


Childern of the Apocalypse

by Kattak



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling, Percy Jackson and the Olympians - Rick Riordan
Genre: Crossover, PJO Ship Weeks
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-11-09
Updated: 2019-06-28
Packaged: 2019-08-21 04:56:26
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 18
Words: 37,539
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16570067
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kattak/pseuds/Kattak
Summary: Percy and Annabeth Jackson are missing. Their children scattered across the world in hiding.Finally, after years of preparing Charlie Jackson set out to find his family and save his parents only to discover that the wall between worlds is a lot thinner than he ever could have realised.An Evil is coming and Hogwarts School seems to be at the very heart of it.





	1. Prologue

The wind howled and battered against the windows, well what was left of them anyway. Glass and blood marked the floor of the Jackson family house. The evidence of a struggle could be seen everywhere, from broken furniture to claw marks on the wall. Lightning flashed and for a heartbeat the house was illuminated with white light. Very slowly a small hatch from underneath the floor boards began to open and four very small figures crawled out cautiously. 

They looked around the remains of their family home in horror. Careful not to step on the glass in their bare feet, they moved into the open in a tight huddle. The eldest, a boy of 11 years old had his arms protectively over this two younger sisters, aged 10 and 9. The youngest child was a boy who was of 8 years, clung to the arm of this eldest sister. Lighting flashed again and all four siblings flinched. 

"Charlie" the 10 year old girl half whispered to her older brother "Where's Mom and Dad?"  
Charlie, just as scared as his younger siblings but being the eldest he knew that he wasn't allowed to show it. He clenched his jaw and opened his mouth to speak but then thought better of it, not trusting his voice to crack.  
He had to be strong he thought over and over in his head, but his mind couldn't stop re living the event that had torn through their lives moments before.  
Charlie and his siblings had always known that their parents where Demigod, they were the grandchild of Poseidon and Athena and even through being the related to a God did have some particular benefits Charlie was old enough to understand that it also came at a price. Monsters. 

The four siblings had grown up on stories of their parent's adventures, the war with the Titians and Giants. On two separate occasions their parents had saved the world but after Charlie was born they had left it behind in order to try and give their children and ordinary life. The Jackson's had seen monsters before, since they were the descendants of two very major Gods it was impossible to have a completely free monster life, but all the monsters that had discovered the whereabouts of the Jackson family had received a one way ticket back to Tartarus. That was, until tonight. 

Charlie wasn't sure what they were, which was possibly the most unsettling thing, he had inherited his mother's brains and he knew every monster in the handbook. All except this one. All four of the Jackson children had inherited a gift from their parents Charlie had his mother's brains, his younger sister Zoe was as deadly with a dagger like her mother had been, Silena could speak horses and fish and little Luke the youngest could control water. Charlie knew every myth, every story, he knew the name of every monster out there that was braying for their blood. This however was something new. 

They came like ghosts in the night and it was all over before it had even started. They had gone straight to their parents' bedroom and attacked them while they were sleeping. Charlie had been woken by the noise and had known what to do instantly, he had silently gathered his siblings and hid them under the floorboards. Their mother had built the hatch under the floor for such an occasion. Though they never thought that they would have to use it. The sounds of a fight had died after 20 minutes but the Jacksons did not dare to leave the hatch until an hour had passed. They walked around the wreck that was their house and saw no sign of their parents. None of the children said it but they were silently relieved that they saw no bodies. 

Luke bent forward and picked up a broken picture frame and stared down at the photo, his face expressionless. The family of six smiled up at him, the photo had been taken when the family had gone on holiday to San Francisco to visit New Rome. He looked carefully at every face. He and Sliena had blond hair like their Mother but had the sea green eyes of their father. Charlie and Zoe on the other hand had thick dark hair and stormy grey eyes, the opposite to their siblings. He pulled the photo out of the glass and clutched it tightly in his hand, his eyes burning with tears. 

It wasn't long before they were found. Aunt Rachel and Uncle Grover had found them still in the house, surrounded by shards of glass. They didn't tell the Jacksons of what they knew but they clearly knew more than what they were saying. Rachel had explained that some very ancient and powerful monsters were after them and that they had taken their parents. To keep them safe Rachel and Grover had decided to separate the children, it would make their sent harder to track, they had reasoned. Scattered across the globe and with no way to find one another the Jackson Family went into hiding.


	2. Chapter 2

Scorpius Malfoy lay flat on his stomach on the roof of the Hogwarts expresses. Below him he could hear the busy platform that was known infamously throughout wizard kind as Platform 9 and 3 quarters. The platform was jam packed with Hogwarts students saying teary and heartfelt goodbyes to their families. The idea of poring one's heart out to your parents before boarding a train for school seamed horribly clique to Scorpius. No, Scorpius Malfoy had better plans for his leaving party which involved crawling along the top of the train unnoticed while it was still in the platform. Moving as quickly as Scorpius could he made his way to the centre of the train where he knew the final air vent would be. As he reached the vent he slipped his hand into his pocket and pulled out the very expressive and customised green crystal. One of the perks of being a member of an extremely rich family was having an extremely large allowance. He dropped the crystal into the air vent, and rolled off the left side of the train, completely hidden from the parents on the station platform. His hands then shot up to catch the roof of the train as soon as his body began to free fall through the air. Then with a graceful swing, he dropped legs first through the open window of the train moments before the train began to depart. He walked casually through the harrow hall straightening is jacket as he went. 

Scorpius Malfoy was in his fifth year of Hogwarts and he was loving it. He passed two Ravenclaw girls as he made his way down the train, winking at them as he passed by. The two girls shared a look with each other and giggled, they then disappeared into a carriage. Scorpius eventually reached his usually cabin and peered into through the glass, what he saw made him smile. The cabin was occupied by his five favourite people in the world. Albus Potter, his best friend sat by the far window leaning forward flirtatiously towards Alice Longbottom. He as trying and failing to drag her attention away from her book 'Dragons of the middle east'. His eyes then drifted over to the girl sitting next to her, Rose Weasley sat cross legged playing a very intense game of exploding snap with Dominique Weasley. Sitting beside Albus was Sam Thomas who was watching the game or more specifically, Dominique very closely. Scorpius ran a hand through his hair before sliding open the carriage door and sauntering in. 

"Scorp!" Albus yelled, abandoning his attempts at seducing Alice he jumped up and tackled him with a hug.  
"Hey Al" he said grinning "Not so tight I need my lungs to breath"  
Al released Scorpius as moved back to his seat opposite Alice. Scorpius looked down at Sam expectantly, gesturing his head to the left.  
"Oi loverboy, slide along' he said when he realised that Sam hadn't understood the signal.  
"Oh right" Sam said, suddenly realising that Scorpius had not just developed a nervous twitch over the summer.  
"Why do you look so smug all of a sudden" Rose asked Scorpius as he sat down next to Albus. 

Scorpius raised an eyebrow "What no hello or usual punch in greeting? You're not wasting anytime in complementing my good looks this year are you, Weasley"  
Rose rolled her eyes at him "You're right maybe I should punch you. I was thinking in the face. It might give you some good looks that I can complement you on"  
"Ouch, three guesses who woke up on the wrong side of the bed this morning" Scorpius said faking sincerity.  
"Jeez it's only be three seconds and your already at it" Albus said rolling his eyes "Just make out all ready" He said throwing his hands into the air in exasperation.  
"Al!" Rose shouted outraged that her Cousin would even suggest such a thing.  
"He has a point" Alice said from behind her book in a disinterested tone "You two flirt like you're on your own romantic comedy"  
"We do not!" Scorpius retorted hoping that his cheeks weren't as red as Rose's hair. Scorpius looked to Sam for moral support.  
"Sorry Loverboy you're on your own" Sam said with a grin.  
'Dam Sam, you know you would think that a guy with two first names for his name would understand loyalty."

Sam was taken aback slightly.  
"Well at least he has a real name not a constellations" Rose said rising to his defence.  
"Well you're a plant so shut up" Scorpius fired.  
"and there it is again" Albus gestured to Scorpius "It would be so cool if we were related"  
Scorpius and Rose looked at each other awkwardly then burst out laughing at the same time, breaking the awkward tension.  
"You guys think that we-" Rose said gesturing between Scorpius and her.  
"-Could ever" Scorpius continued.  
"-Even consider-"  
"Mental this lot" The two of them said almost in unison.

The rest of them grumbled about how love was truly blind.  
"Anyway back on subject, Rose did ask a valid question earlier" Albus questioned leaning in close to his friend with a mischievous grin. "What did you do?"  
Scorpius leaned in and whispered into to his friend's ear. Albus gasped with delight and his eyes lit up.  
"Congratulation my friend, your certainly starting this year off with a bang" Albus said clapping Scorpius on the back. "But I'm afraid I have done one better" Albus leaned in and whispered to Scorpius who looked suitably impressed.  
"Oh please tell me you are not still up to that stupid competition" Dom asked, her tone slightly concerned.  
"What competition?" Al asked innocently.  
Alice sighed and put her book down which shocked everyone. "The one where you celebrate the day you met by making everyone else suffer with stupid pranks" she said dryly.  
"You know that is a very good idea Alice" Scorpius complimented with a trip of his head "Hey Al, I think we should totally do that"  
"Yeah that's a great idea" Albus agreed jokingly.  
"What have you done this time?" Sam asked half excited and half in fear.  
"Set all the sprinklers off again" Rose asked dryly "Ingenious"  
"Better" Scorpius said with waggle of his eyebrows "in fact-" he said lifting up his watch.  
"Three...two... one...boom" 

As if on command the whole train flooded with bright green smoke, it swirled and danced around the carriage as if it had a mind of its own. Shouts and shrieks could be heard from all down the train. Scorpius and Albus started to laugh. Then there was a sudden sparkle of silver and glittering shaped began to appear in the smoke. A lion ran across the compartment which was then followed by a eagle and a Badger. Lastly a snake emerged and began to dance across the carriage, moving in and out of people's heads. Rose grinned as it danced around her head and Dom let out a beautiful shriek of joy as it passed between her neck and her hair. The snake them disappeared and the green smoke began to fade but not before it had covered everyone in sparkling green glitter.  
"That was bloody brilliant" Albus said in awe.  
"Dose this come off?" Rose asked rubbing her arm furiously trying to get the glitter off.  
Scorpius snorted "of course not" he said it as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.  
"I like it" Sam said as he examined his hands that sparkled green.  
"Thank you Sam, Your now back on my friends list" Scorpius said. 

Sam shoved him with his shoulder. "Please Malfoy you were begging to be my friend"  
Scorpius flinched at the mention of his surname but recovered quickly "Your up next Potter" he said turning to his friend.  
Albus was about to speak but was interrupted by a very sparkly and green Trolley Lady.  
"Anything from the trolley dears?" She asked sweetly.  
Albus smiled sweetly back at her 'Hi, Anthea. How are you?"  
"I'm fine Albus, Looking forward to the new year?" she asked him.  
Albus beamed at her "I can't wait"

Anthea then reached into her trolley and pulled out a large paper bag and handed it to him. "Some sweets for you and your green friends" She said before pushing her trolley away and moving onto the next carriage.  
"No Way. Free sweets" Sam yelled diving into the bag and handing out blue lolly's to everyone in the carriage. Albus and Scorpius accepted the lolly's but didn't open them. They watched with bemused expressions as everyone else stripped of the plastic wrapper and pop the hard boiled sweet in their mouth.  
Rose unfortunately noticed this after she had put hers in her mouth. Her eyes widened and an expression of fear took root in her face. She locked eyes with her cousin who gave her a challenging look. Very slowly Rose took the lolly out of her mouth as if it was a bomb, she never took her eyes off Albus. The moment the lolly had left Rose's lips her hair began to change colour, the red started to fade away and it became a vibrant blue. Everyone else in the carriage stopped and stared as Roses hair changed colour. 

"What?" she asked genially concerned.  
Dom's mouth fell open and her lolly fell out. The moment her lolly left her mouth her blonde hair started to change colour too.  
Rose looked at her in shock and then glanced at her own hair. She yelled in outrage and the fixed her eyes on Albus.  
Sam was about to take his own lolly out of his mouth when Rose suddenly shouted "Don't if you take it out your hair will change"  
Sam tried to cram his lolly back in but it was too late, his hair had begun to change colour ask well.  
Alice watching the whole scene unfold before her bit down hard on the stick of her lolly, almost as if she was scared it would magically fall out.  
Rose fixed her eyes on Albus and lunged at her cousin.  
"If it makes you feel any better everyone on the train got a free lolly" he shouted the moment before Rose knocked him to the ground.

Scorpius and Albus then began to unwrap their lolly pop.  
"What are you doing?" Rose demanded, seething.  
"Well we can't be the only ones without blue hair" Al pointed out before poping to lolly into his mouth.  
"Amatur" Scorpius scoffed at her before doing the same.  
Scorpius grinned as his hair changed colour. He couldn't wait to see McGonagalls face when the whole of Hogwarts walk into the great hall covered in green glitter and had blue hair.


	3. Chapter 3

Charlie Jackson walked down the dark street of Manhattan, his shoulders hunched and his head low. His eyes shifted from right to left uneasily, it had been too long since his last monster attack and he knew his time was running out before he ran into another one. One more two many, he thought. He was already running out of supplies and leads. He had never been a good fighter but he was decent enough, he was better at puzzles. It did bother him, knowing that he would never be as good as his parents, Percy and Annabeth Jackson were famed fighters throughout the ancient world (In Roman, Egyptian, Greek and Norse alike) but he knew if he was going to survive in this world he was just having to accept that. Besides he had other skills in his arsenal. It made him different. It made him dangerous. He had been moved to Australia after the disappearance of his parents, but his 18th birthday he had jumped on the first plane to New York. It had been a risk taking air travel but he didn't have the time to take a boat or travel by train half way across the world. His Dad would never had even thought about taking a plane but Charlie thought that since he was half Athenian he might gain some leeway with Zeus. He knew he wasn't supposed to even be in America, since America was the heart and home of the Gods, he figured it was the best place to start looking for answers. They had told him it would be dangerous, the Nymphs who had run the orphanage back in Sydney, they had warned him that as soon as he stepped on to American soil it would be like a great big glowing neon sign for all monsters would appear above his head, telling them where to find a nice godly snack. It was against the rules, he knew that but then again he had never been great at following directions. He could still hear Rachel's voice echoing in his head as he thought about the day he lost everything, his life, his family 

"Don't come back to the US, Stay wherever they send you"

He hated thinking about that day, the day he had said goodbye to his siblings. Silena and Luke had cried. He flexed his right hand as he remembered how tightly Zoe had held on to, right up until the last second before she was led away. That had been the plan, he hadn't been told much since he had been so young at the time but he remembered small things. Something had arrived in the night a tore through the foundations of his life, kidnapping his parents. They had been taken, he was sure of it, but deep down in the more reasonably part of his head there was a small voice telling him the to expect the worst case scenario. They were dead. The four Jackson children had been entrusted to four Gods, each charged with ensuring the protection of each child. He had been given to Poseidon God of the Sea and his Grandfather. His Grandfather had taken him to the other side of the world, dropping him off in an orphanage in Sydney with some Sea Nymphs. Charlie often thought it was a bit of a joke, Poseidon taking him to the land of the surfers. He didn't know which Gods, had taken Zoe, Silena and Luke or where on earth they had moved them to. All he knew was that it was time to find his family becasue something had changed, it had found him, and if it had found him then maybe he could find them. His parents and siblings had been missing long enough and it was up to him to find them. 

Charlie turned another corner and strolled down a dark ally way. New York was disgusting, compared to the clean streets of Sydney he wondered how anyone could ever live in a city this dirty. The allyway was littered with trash and weird stains that Charlie did not want to know about. There was a flash of movement in the corner of his eyes which he was pretty sure was a rat. Charlie shuddered as he wondered how his Father grew up in a place like this. A place so chaotic. A dark and faded red door sat at the end of the allyway covered mostly in shadow and mist, the magical veil between worlds. Taking a sharp breath he knocked on it twice paused then three times. The slit in the door slide open and a single dark eye stared out.  
"Password" asked a gruff voice.  
Charlie leaned in carefully "Black 93"  
The slit was then slammed in his face and Charlie, for a heartbeat fought to keep panic rising in his throat. What if he had the wrong password? . He questioned himself. What if he had been given bad information? He had interrogated a dodgy Satyr for this, but to his relief the door opened and Charlie walked in. The room was dimly lit and large. Several tables were dotted around, each with four or five poker players. There was a stage to the far back of the room where a woman sung quietly into a mike, who Charlie was pretty sure was one of the nine muses. Red harpy's dressed in suits walked around carrying drinks for the players.  
"Weapons at the door" the large Cyclops grunted beside him. Charlie reached into his pocket and pulled out a hilt of a sword.  
The Cyclops frowned "Where is the blade?" he grunted.  
"Do you mind if I demonstrate?" Charlie asked. 

The Cyclops looked suspicious but nodded. Charlie looked down at the hilt of the sword and then suddenly a celestial bronze blade grew out of it. He loved that blade. It had been a gift from Poseidon on his 14th birthday. He had woken up on that very morning to see the beautiful hilt resting at the foot of his bed. It had taken him all morning trying to figure out how to summon the blade but when he had he had made a vow never to put the blade down. After that he had trained with it everyday after school, looking up moves and movements online and then coping them in real life. He had taught himself to fight. The cyclops grunted, clearly satisfied with the demonstration and took the sword off Charlie and allowed him to enter. He walked slowly into the room, taking his time to look at each and every one of the faces. There was a large neon sign to his left that read The Red Flower Club. 

The Red Flower Club was a neutral area in New York, where anyone could enter and have no fear of being harmed, Monsters and Demigods, Mortals and Gods could sit down at a table and play together. The only rule was to take all fights outside. The Red Flower prided its self on its pacifism.  
'There was strength in peace' Charlie conceded as he moved through the tables with a certain easy that is only bestowed upon a practice fighter. He had practiced it for hours in the mirror at home. Several pairs of eyes watched him as he moved thought the room. He casually spotted a seat at one of the tables and sat down. He flicked his hand in the direction of the nearest harpy, indicating that he wanted a drink. The dealer began to shuffle the cards and flicked the cards to each player. Charlie picked up his cards and studied them carefully. 

Charlie looked at the middle aged man sitting opposite him and new exactly who he was. His name was Lysander Dean and he was a disgraced Greek Demigod who had fought against his father in the second Titian war. He had fought on the side of Kronas. Charlie watched him thoughtfully and tried to imagine what it would have been like for his Dad. He had been 16 and he had led and army against the Titans, and won. He had been two years younger that Charlie was now. The thought still left Charlie slightly in awe. Charlie indulged himself slightly, imagining what Lysander's reaction would be if he told him that he was Percy Jackson's eldest son. Anger? Rage? Fear?  
Lysander put down his cards and Charlie did the same. The dealer pasted the next hand.  
"I'm Jacob Alsworth, Hermes legacy" Charlie lied as way of introduction. Jacob Aslworth had been the name he had taken on when he had gone into hiding.  
Lysander looked up "Lysander Dean" he said with a nod "Ares"  
Charlie looked back down at his cards.  
"You new round here? Haven't seen you before" Lysander asked curiously.  
Charlie nodded "Just moved back from Australia"  
Lysander smiled "Yea I can hear a bit in your accent" he commented.  
Charlie was genially surprised "Really?"  
"U-hu. So what's it like down under?"  
"Hot" Charlie said passing his cards. "Good food" Charlie winked at Lysander who grinned back. Charlie smiled internally as he felt he was successfully winning Lysander over, which was of course the plan.   
"So what made you come back?" Lysander asked looking the cards.

"Family, my aunt died in the Titan war and it's the anniversary isn't it? " Charlie said casually.  
Charlie saw Lysander tense up "What side she fight for?"  
"The side that got her killed" Charlie replied smoothly "Was any side better than the other? I'm to young to really know but way I see it was that it was pointless. People died and nothing changed, the Gods didn't learn and the Titans didn't get their new order. Pointless"  
Lysander grunted " I'd drink to that, lost a lot of siblings that day"  
"You fight?" Charlie asked.

"Yep, for bloody Kronos. Can you believe that? Can't for the life of me figure out why I would have fight for him? Looking back on it he was weak. He was defeated by a 16 year old boy for Gods sake. So much for big bad titan" he laughed.  
"Percy Jackson" Charlie said the name as if it was an unexploded bomb.  
"That's him. He pissed off my dad you know"  
"What happened to him? I used to hear his name everywhere and now nothing. You think he's dead?" This was the reason why Charlie had come, he had heard that Lysander might know something. Ever since that night, Charlie had sworn on the river Styx that he would find out what had happened to his parents and now, hopefully he would get an answer.  
"Well I don't know much but I heard it was some powerful magic" Lysander said dismissively.  
Charlie leaned forward "Magic? Like a sorceress? Medea?"  
Lysander shook his head "Nah it was somethin' different. Say, do you wanna get out of here and get a drink?"  
Charlie wanted to push Lysander more but he sensed that if he kept on the subject he would get suspicious. Charlie figured the best thing for him to do right now was to stick with Lysander, possibly get him drunk and then ask him more questions.  
"Sure" Charlie said with a grin. 

The two of them left the Red flower club, collecting their weapons from the cyclops as they went.  
Charlie and Lysander stepped out into the cool night air.  
Lysander breathed in deeply "I love the smell of New York at night"  
Charlie nodded in agreement.  
"You know, it's funny but you look very Athenian for a Hermes kid" Lysander said eyeing Charlie carefully.  
"Legacy" Charlie corrected him quickly.  
Lysander took a step forward so he was right in Charlie's personal space. "but its even stranger how much of an idiot you are"  
Before Charlie had a chance to reply Lysander had him pinned up against the ally wall with a knife at his throat.  
"Athena, I bet she expects her kids to be real smart, you know, the cream of the crop. But you just stroll in asking questiosn like a little green bean and hoping none would notice. In that room, you stuck out like a sore thumb'. he growled with glee.

'My Aunt died in the Titan war' he mocked 'You don't know anything about the War or the ones that followed. What we did, why we did it, what we lost. And you think isn't smart flashing the name Percy Jackson around like its some kind of flashy golden card. Even the way you say his name. Lemme guess you read about him in your dummy history book and fancied yourself a fan. I've met fan's like you before and let me tell you he was nothin like the books say. Percy Jackson was a lucky prick who only got about because he surrounded himself with actual heroes. I'm talking Charlie Beckendolf, Clarrise LaRue Ethan Nackamara. Real Heroes. Bet you never heard of them, gods bless their souls.'

Charlie was breathing heavily, his mouth was dry as he looked down at the knife at his throat.   
'I'm not what you think I am' He whispered 'I am Athenian, half Athenian Legacy. I just like asking questions, you'know. I'm on holiday. Just wanted to see some history, meet some-' Lysander pressed the knife deeper into his throat.  
'Ahh you see kid, I know your lying again. That's a real bad habit. Now I'm going to give you one more chance to tell the truth and your going to tell me the gods dam truth' Lysander growled.   
Charlie could feel the pain spiking through his veins around his neck, Lysander had cut his skin, he was sure of it.   
'Truth' Lysander hissed.  
Not seeing any other way out Charlie gave in.  
'I'm Charlie Jackson, my name is Charlie Jackson'  
Lysander didn't react, but Charlie didn't think that he believed him.   
'I swear it' he assured him.  
'Well, I was right about one thing' Lysander menaced 'You are pretty stupid for an Athenian, but then I guess your more like your Father than what's good for you' 

Lysander then leaned away and laughed "Trust my luck I got Olympus' golden boy's kid, You should probably be more discreet about who you talk to about Percy Jackson" he warned. 'They might be a bit more bitter than I am'  
Charlie stood up, his sword in his hand ready for a fight.  
"Woah calm down kid, I aint gonna hurt ya" Lysander said raising his hands to show he was unarmed.  
Charlie didn't lower his sword "Then what do you want?"  
"I wanna know why a Jackson is asking questions about his own parents?"  
"That's none of your businesses" Charlie snapped at him.  
"Look kid, I never much did like your Dad, for obvious reasons but your Mom saved my life once, when were younger and I guess I owe her one. " Lysander explained   
Charlie wasn't sure if he could trust Lysander, Ares children had a long and complicated history with children of Poseidon, ever since his Dad had beat him a fight they had been out to get them. He sized up the son of Ares once again and didn't think that he would beat him in a fight. 

"You seem like a good kid but if you don't listen to me and let me help you will be dead before you know it, especially since you're not very subtle" Lysander chuckled.   
"How do I know I can trust you?" Charlie asked sceptically.  
"I Swear on the river Styx that I can be trusted" Lysander said and lightning boomed overhead.  
Charlie lowered his sword "The dark magic that you talked about. It got my parents, and now its back, after me and my brother and sisters. So I'm gonna kill it before it kills us"


	4. Chapter 4

Scorpius Malfoy and Albus Potter walked into the great hall with the rest of the Hogwarts students, a sea of blue and green washed out before them. Scorpius and Albus made their way over to the Slytherin table carefully watching Headmistress McGonagall's face as they went. She watched the entire green student body with utter resignation. The two boys snickered and took their seats next to the other Slytherin Fifth years. Albus craned his neck to get one more look at his blue haired sparkly green friends, Rose sat at the Ravenclaw table her arms folded and her face stormy, Dom and Sam sat at the Hufflepuff table in deep conversation, they seemed to had gotten over the fact that their hair was now blue. Alice sat at the Gryffindor table arm wrestling a much larger boy. She still furiously sucked at her lolly pop as if determined to be the last one left with normal hair. 

Typical Gryffindor, Albus thought. Usually Albus didn't like Gryffindor's, he thought that they were arrogant and self-centred. His brother James had been and example of that. Al did love his brother but he did think that he was very insufferable at times. Alice however was different, she wasn't a show off, her bravery was much like her Fathers. Albus' Dad had told him a lot of stories about Neville Longbottom, how he went from loser to the leader of Dumblore's army, the Professor who fought and killed the Horcrux, Nagini. In this respect Albus thought that Alice was very much her father's daughter, and he loved it. 

"Here they come" Scorpius said as he watched the first years enter the hall. They two had not been spare from Albus and Scorpius' antics in fact one greedy first year had taken two lollies and now he had blue skin. The two boys craned their necks looking for their younger sisters. Lilly Luna Potter and Cassiopeia Malfoy would be starting their first years at Hogwarts this year and sure enough both girls stood at the front of the group. Albus felt a small pain of regret when he saw that his sisters usual red hair was now a bright blue. He knew how nervous she had been about her sorting, and he doubted having blue hair would add to her confidence.   
"But if I'm not in Gryffindor? no I have to be. Mum and Dad were, so, so shall I" She had said to him that very morning.   
"That's not always true" Albus had told her "Both of Sam's Dads were in Gryffindor and he's a Hufflepuff"   
Lily let out a cry of despair "I'm going to be a Hufflepuff"  
"There's nothing wrong with being a Hufflepuff" Albus chided her, feeling the need to defend his friend's house.   
"Of course not" Lily said quickly "It's just I want to be like James, he was a Gryffindor"   
"What about Slytherin?" Albus asked cautiously.  
"I don't think green suits me" She replied mildly. 

Albus smiled as he remembered the conversation.   
"Potter, Lily" McGonagall called. The hall fell silent as it usually did when a Potter was called. Everyone watched Lily in anticipation, wondering where the next Potter would be sorted. Albus knew she would be heading straight to Gryffindor, she was just so much like their Mum but Albus secretly hoped that she would be sorted with him in Slytherin, he loved being in Slytherin but he hated being the odd one out in his family of Gryffindor's. 

Albus watched as the hat was placed on her head. Lily sat on the stool uncomfortably, she clearly didn't like all the attention.   
"Gryffindor!" the hat shouted and the Gryffindor table exploded with applause. Lily jumped happily off her stool and skipped over to her new house. Albus clapped loudly but he had a small sinking feeling in his stomach. 

"Malfoy, Cassiopeia" McGonagall called next. Albus watched as his best friends little sister walked gracefully up the steps and sat on the stool. The sorting hat had barely touched her head when it shouted out her house.  
"Gryffindor!" The sorting hats voice echoed throughout the great hall, no one spoke. A Malfoy in Gryffindor! That was completely unheard of. Everyone stared at Cassiopeia in shock but none were more shocked than herself. Her mouth had formed a perfect O shape.   
Suddenly Scorpius stood up next to Albus and started to clap loudly "Wooh go Cassie!" he yelled proudly. 

Cassie smiled and blushed at her brother's embarrassing over protective parent side. Lucky Scorpius' outburst brought everyone out of their shock and an extremely loud applause erupted from the Gryffindor table. The little Malfoy jumped down off the stool and joined Albus' sister who was smiling widely at her new friend. Headmistress McGonagall then read through the rest of the names on the list and completed the sorting. 

"Now before all of you tuck in to a well anticipated feast I'm sure, I have a few announcements to make. Firstly I would like to welcome you all back to Hogwarts for another year of learning, I'm sure that you all are planning to study hard. Secondly I would like to remind the 3rd year Ravenclaws that using nearly headless Nick as a book mule is completely unacceptable and will not be tolerated. Thirdly, tomorrow everyone must visit the infirmity to have the green glitter removed and their hair un blue-a-fided. Since I'm sure it will take some strong magic to remove both and finally I would like to award Albus Potter and Scorpius Malfoy detention for the next month" She turned her gaze to the two Slytherin fifth years. "Don't you dare think that I don't know it was you two who did this? Chuckles and sniggers ran throughout the great hall. 

"20 points from Slytherin" She said sternly. The whole table let out a moan and shot the two boys dirty looks.   
"Well since we have that out of the way" She continued "Enjoy" and with a wave of her wand the food appeared out of nowhere.   
Albus and Scorpius drove into the feast without hesitation, piling up their plated with everything they could get their hands on.   
"I can't believe that your sister's a Gryffindor, never thought that I would live to see the day a Malfoy would be sorted into the house of the Lion" Albus joked as he shoved some chicken in his mouth.   
"Oh I knew where she was going. She's always been a Gryffindor at heart" Scorpius said with a grin. "I'm so happy for her, that was the house she wanted to get as well"   
Scorpius picked up his cup and peered in "oh no no no" he muttered and pulled out his wand with a small tap of his wand his orange pumpkin juice changed to blue coke,   
"Much better" he said as he took a sip.   
"So what did you do this summer?" Scorpius asked Albus.   
Albus shrugged "not much. Dad was busy all summer at the Ministry"   
Scorpius nodded. After Harry Potter had left school he had gone on to become the head of Magical Law enforcement at the ministry for magic.   
"Oh yeah? What's happened?" Scorpius asked in between bites.   
"Same old stuff, there's loads of anti-Pure blood protests going around. People are saying all those with Pure blood status should be removed from senior office positions".   
Scorpius ran his hand though his hair, he knew all about this. Ever since the second Wizarding Civil war Pure bloods had been treated with extreme caution, especially families like the Malfoys who had sided with Voldemort. 

Scorpius wasn't particularly offended by the sudden rise in Pure blood hatred. Muggleborns and halfbloods had every right to be anti pure blood. After all it was people like Scorpius' Grandfather who wanted to create a new world order with Pure bloods at the top of the food chain. Muggles, muggleborn and halfbloods alike had been tortured and killed during the days of the civil war. It didn't surprise Scorpius that they wanted them out of power. The Malfoys themselves had received several death threats and cursed objects over the summer.   
"Yeah I read about them in the daily prophet. I heard they were getting more serious" Scorpius said.  
Albus nodded with a worried expression on his face "The protests have started to get more violent. Are you lot ok? Some of the pure blood families have received death threats" Albus asked concerned "If Draco told my Dad that something was up then I'm sure he would be willing to help"   
Scorpius gave Albus one of his disarming smiles "Everything's fine" 

***

Sitting by the lake one cold September morning was Scorpius and his friends. Rose, Dom and Sam sat underneath a large oak tree, books and miles of parchment spread out all around them like a minefield. Alice, Albus and Scorpius on the other hand were standing on the lake surface, their face's contorted in concentration. Alice had dared the two Slytherin boys that she could stand on the surface of the lake longer than the two of them put together. The two boys, naturally had risen to the challenged, determined not to be out done by the Gryffindor girl.   
Rose glanced up from her homework "Albus you're supposed to be helping me with this! You're the one who wanted to be my potions partner in the first place"   
"That's because I thought you would do all the work" Albus said in a strained voice, the soles of his shoes sinking into the water ever so slightly.   
"How do you know that I won't do it badly on purpose?" Rose taunted her cousin.  
"Because you can't stand to get a bad grade" Scorpius said "All you Ravenclaws care about is getting good grades. That's the purpose of your house"   
"That's not true" Rose said angrily.  
"Then why are you stressing out over it so much?" Alice asked, her voice uneven and distant. A bead of sweat rolled down her forehead.   
"This is silly" Dom declare, her French accent could be heard clearly.  
"Couldn't agree more" Sam said firmly.  
"We came out here to work quietly and you three think it's a good time to show off how stubborn you are" Dom said.  
"That's not what were doing?" Alice told her in a tight voice.   
"Really, because it looks a lot that way?" Sam said.  
"Look, I wouldn't expect two Hufflepuffs to understand but this is a matter of honour. The great house of Gryffindor vs Slytherin. I have tradition to upheld, and that tradition means beating them in any way possible." Alice explained.  
"What do you mean Hufflepuff won't understand?" Dom demanded.  
"Just because were not as loud as the rest of you doesn't mean that we don't understand your bull headed tradition, which has gotten people killed in the past might I add" Sam snapped. 

Rose was shocked by Sam's tone, he was usually very laid back about Scorpius and Alice's Hufflepuff jokes.   
"They are right you know" Rose said agreeing with the suddenly empowered Sam.   
"Yeah well your vote doesn't count because your always on the opposite side to Scorpius" Alice said scornfully.   
"What? I like Hufflepuffs, don't drag me into this" Scorpius said.   
"Oh I wouldn't trust what he says" Came a voice from behind Rose, she turned around to see Jason Whitehall, a muggleborn third year leaning on the tree behind her.   
"What do you mean?" Rose asked him, marking out his Gryffindor tie.  
"Well his family are all liars aren't they. Since when have you ever heard of a Malfoy being nice to a Hufflepuff, well unless they want something that is? Homework is a good example" Jason said looking down at Sam's shared project with Scorpius.   
Scorpius, Albus and Alice stepped of the lake's surface and on to dry land. Albus and Alice wore faces of fury while Scorpius' was a mask of calm.   
"What is it you want?" Rose asked, her voice dripping with venom.  
Jason straightened up "I want to see his forearm" 

Nobody moved. 

"You-want-to-see-his-forearm?-hows-about-show-you-my-fist?" Albus said through gritted teeth as he stepped forward purposely towards Jason.   
Rose stood up her wand raised "I think you better go"   
"No Rose its fine. If he wants to see my forearm, I'll be happy to strip for a fan" Scorpius said, unbuttoning the sleeve of his shirt he moved over and stood next to Jason.   
"Prepare yourself" he said dramatically to Jason as he pulled up his sleeve to reveal his arm. Rose had expected to see his pale skin clear of any mark but she nearly had a heart attack when she saw that it wasn't. On Scorpius' forearm was a muggle temporary tattoo of a pink unicorn on a rainbow.  
"Cassie just got a packet of muggle temporary tattoos. She ran out of space on her own arms so she made me get this one" Scorpius told him "Is this the dark mark that you are looking for or is it a bit to pink for your liking" 

Jason looked taken aback, he wasn't sure how to react. Sam was on his feet now, staring down at Jason with a dangerous look in his eye. Jason looked up at Sam registering the fact that he was twice his size and two years older.   
"Bye bye little boy" Dom said sweetly, waving her hand at him.   
Jason backed up quickly, clearly reconsidering his idea of approaching five fifth years and asking if one was a death eater.  
As soon as Jason was out of sight all eyes turned to Scorpius who was quietly buttoning up his sleeve.   
"Thanks guys for going all Justice league on him but you really didn't have too" Scorpius said.   
"He was completely out of order" Albus said, still shaking with anger. 

Scorpius shrugged "It doesn't matter"  
Rose frowned "Of course it does"  
"Aww Rose, I knew you cared" Scorpius said putting his hand on his heart.  
"Don't change the subject" she said angrily. "Has this happened before? because its not ok"  
Scorpius stared at her "My Grandfather is a torturer and a murderer. My Father was the one who gave Death eaters a free pass into Hogwarts. He's the reason that Albus Dumbledore is dead" He said pointedly at Albus. "My great aunt was Bellatrix LeStrange. Come on! Even her name sounds evil. They have every right to think that I'm a death eater. The Malfoys were in the inner circle for Merlin sake!"   
"Scorpius you're not a death eater" Albus reassured him.   
"No I'm just his son" Scorpius said before storming off.


	5. Chapter 5

After Rose Weasley had tortured the Slytherin password out of her cousin she chased after Scorpius. She knew exactly where he was heading, and although he probably wanted some alone time Rose was refusing to let him have it. She half ran through the castle and into the dungeons where the Slytherin common room was hidden. Ignoring the accusing stares and the shocked looks she received as she walked through the Slytherin common room and up into the boys dormitory, Rose found Scorpius sitting on the end of his bed, hunched over staring at a small piece of paper.   
She knocked on the doorframe "Can I come in?" She asked.   
Scorpius looked up startled by the sound of another human being, he was even more shocked to see a Ravenclaw girl in the Slytherin Boys dormitory.   
"What are you doing here?" he asked, folding the piece of paper and slipping it into his back pocket.   
"I came to see if you were alright" Rose told him as she walked in and sat next to him on the bed.   
"Well job done. I'm fine" Scorpius replied. Rose rolled her eyes at him "Are you going to tell me what's going on or do I have to have to get the Veritaserum"   
"That's illegal" Scorpius pointed out.   
"I know, but I have friends in high placed" Rose winked.   
"And I believe you" Scorpius laughed.  
"I'm serious though" she said meaningfully "What's all this about Deatheaters?"   
Scorpius shrugged "You know, sins of the Father and all that" 

"You're not your Father Scorpius" Rose said firmly.   
"No, I'm just another Malfoy in Slytherin"   
"Albus is a Slytherin and a Potter. Your own sister is a Gryffindor. When are you going to realise that your family name and Hogwarts house are two very different things"   
Scorpius sighed "I know that"  
"Then why are you like this? I want to understand" Rose said leaning closer to him.   
"Do you ever feel like you were supposed to have a different life? That you were supposed to be a different person? You know I love my family. They have done so much for me... I can never repay them but I just hate the fact that people will only ever see Cassie as a Malfoy. They will only ever see my father as a Pureblood who worked with Voldermort. He's not that man anymore. Draco is a good man. When I was growing up he didn't teach me about purebloods and Mudbloods, he taught me about equality. That a muggleborn witch could be Minister of Magic" He said looking purposely at Rose "If she wanted to be. He made bad choices as a kid, sucked in by his family legacy. Trying to live up to a family name that he never wanted to be a part of, and to be honest I understand that. I can never truly be a Malfoy, not like they were before" 

"I understand what that's like" Rose said.   
Scorpius laughed "Sure you do"   
Rose hit him hard "How about you try and live up to Hermione Granger and Ron Weasley. They went with Uncle Harry to kill Voldermort. They were fighting against the Dark Lord since the age of 11! My mother is Minster for Magic and my Father is chief adviser to the Muggle Primeminster on all Magical matters. My Uncle is Harry Potter for Merlin's sake! My aunt, Captain of the HollyHead Harpies. So do you lecture me about living up to the family name Scorpius" She said hotly.  
Scorpius stared at her then snorted "What a pair we make, the disappointing second generation"   
Rose cocked her head "No, I don't think we are. Were just waiting for our adventure, our turn to save the world" "

Saving the world" Scorpius said, as if trying out the sentence in his mouth. "I wouldn't mind giving that a go one day. That is if I live that long" Scorpius joked to himself.   
Rose sat up in alarm "What do you mean? Are you sick?"   
Scorpius laughed "What no! I just meant... with all these attacks on purebloods going on no doubt the Malfoys will be first"  
"They won't touch you. Not if the Potters and the Weasley's stand in their way. We are very respected families you know" She said fiercely.   
"If your anything to go by then I'm sure they are" Scorpius said.   
Rose grinned at him. "Well thanks for the prep talk freckles but I have a detention to go to" Scorpius said standing up.   
"Are you coming tonight?" Rose asked him.   
"The Lumos games? Of course, I've been asked to be the commentator." Scorpius said with a sideways grin. 

Scorpius left Rose and headed down to the transfiguration classroom where he and Albus would begin their months' worth of detentions. As he was walking through the halls of Hogwarts his mind drifted towards the Lumos games. The Lumos games were an illegal night Quidditch competition held by Hogwarts students. The games were held every Friday night at midnight and were organised by all the 7th year students from all houses. Each match was always given a different theme or obstacle to make the game harder and more interesting. The obstacles were always planned in secret by the 7th years and were never revealed to the rest of the school till the beginning of the match, they could vary from an extra bludger to a Reverso Charm forcing all the players to play the game flying backwards. Once, a match was played during a miniature Snowstorm. The normal rules that usually were applied during Quidditch were stripped to the bare minimum. Teams were usually made up of two houses that could vary from match to match, in fact alliances had been known to change within the game itself. For a house to win the title at the end of the year they had to have the most number of won matches, if however there was a tie then the two finalist would have to play against each other in the most brutalist match of the year, commonly known as a death match. Last year's final had ended in a death match between Gryffindor and Ravenclaw, it had not been pretty. For tonight's match Slytherin had teamed up with Hufflepuff against Ravenclaw and Gryffindor. 

Yes the opposite team had bravery and intelligence but Scorpius was pretty sure that a combination of Slytherin's cunning matched with Hufflepuff's brutal competitiveness would win them the match, after all Scorpius had been the one to negotiate the alliance. Scorpius himself was not a big fan of flying, much to his father and house's disappointment but this quickly changed when his love of sarcasm and equal amount of criticism for all houses made him a perfect commentator. The same could not be said for his friends. 

Rose was the Ravenclaw Chaser, Albus was the Slytherin Seeker, Alice was the Gryffindor Beater and Dom was a Hufflepuff chaser. The games were a highly anticipated event at the school, the sense of danger and breaking school rules would often help make the atmosphere electric. Since tonight's game was the opening game of the year the new 7th years had promised to make it spectacular. Scorpius grinned in anticipation as he turned the corner and walked into his detention. Albus was already sitting at the desk, doodling on a small piece of parchment and Professor McGonagall sat on her desk in her cat form. Scorpius' smile disappeared when he remembered the time he and Albus had tried to pet her in their first year. McGonagall leapt of her desk and morphed back into a human. 

She fixed Scorpius with a stare. "Sit" she said sternly. Scorpius obliged, he had crossed her enough times to know that she was not one to mess around with. He took the chair next to Albus.   
"What am I going to do with the two of you?" She said sharply. "Every single year I get complaints from the Hogwarts express. Do you know what they ask me? They ask me to find alternative travel arrangements just for the two of you! And every year I tell them, I promise them that you would be foolish to try such antics again. Clearly you are fools, and you make me look like one too." Scorpius and Albus looked down at their desks, despite all that they did the two of the respected McGonagall a lot. "From now on you will both be searched before you step on the platform at Kings cross and Hogsmead. A member of staff will accompany you on your journey and you will put an end to this inappropriate behaviour. Am I clear?"   
"Do we have to travel with a teacher?" Albus complained.   
"Yes" She snapped. "Anything else? Good. Now both of you will be spending detention with Professor Longbottom. I'm not sure what he has planned for the two of you but..."  
"Three" Professor Slughorn corrected as he walked into the classroom followed by an angry Rose Weasley. It would be a lie to say that the sight of the angry little red head didn't make Scorpius' heart skip a beat. 

"I just caught this one hexing another student, right in front of me as well! The audacity!" He said.   
"Who did she hex?" McGonagall asked.   
"A Jason Whitehall I believe, she won't say why either" Slughorn said shaking his head. Rose slumped in a chair next to Albus, her arms crossed. She wouldn't look at Albus or Scorpius. Albus looked from her to Scorpius then back to Rose with a large smile on his face. Scorpius elbowed him in the ribs.   
"I think that it should be fitting that she receives detention" Slughorn said eyeing Rose Weasley.   
"I taught your mother you know, and she would have never... well... she would have at least given me a plausible reason for her actions" then without another word Slughorn left. All eyes turned to Rose expectantly but she refused to meet anyone's eyes.   
"Well..." Albus said clapping his hands and Scorpius turned a bright shade of pink only just realising what Rose had done "  
This is awkward" 

*** 

Albus had hoped that detention with Professor Longbottom would be fun, considering that he was a long term friend of his family.   
He was wrong, the detention was awkward and very unpleasant. It was a largely known fact that Albus had a very large crush on his daughter Alice, and Albus soon found out Longbottom knew as well.   
"Right, for the next hour we will be re planting baby Mandrakes" Professor Longbottom said as he and the three students made their way down to the greenhouse. This was received by a collective groan from Albus, Scorpius and Rose.   
"You commit the crime, you do the time" Longbottom reminded them happily as he led the way into his greenhouse. "Potter you'll be working with me. Malfoy and Weasley you two can work together" Longbottom said, directing them to the worktable where he had already set out the pots and soil. He handed each student a pair of fluffy ear muffs.   
"We have one hour so let's get to work" Albus followed the Professor to the far side of the greenhouse where he began to prep the pot for a mandrake. "

So Albus, how have you been?" The Professor asked him casually. "Fine thanks sir" Albus said, choosing to stick to the plan and be polite to Alice's Dad. "And your dad?" he asked.   
"Yeah he's good too" Albus said quickly, getting increasingly uncomfortable with the situation.   
"So are you enjoying this year so far, I've noticed that you have been spending a lot of time with my daughter" The Professor said this casually but Albus could not help but notice the underlining tone.   
"Err... yeah, I guess" he stumbled awkwardly. He could feel his ears going pink.   
"She's alright...I mean more than alright. Your daughter's not just alright because she's your daughter, I mean, well... she's my friend"   
Neville rolled his eyes at Albus' lack of chill.   
'Just like his father' he thought dryly remembering Harry blustering and stumbling over his words whenever he talked about Ginny.   
"Did you know that I've led Dumbledors army against an army of deatheaters, trolls, giants and other evil things. I also killed Part of Voldermorts soul with a sword" Longbottom said casually looking Albus in the eye. "What i'm trying to say is that if you hurt her you will end up at the bottom of the lake" 

"Come on Weasley" Scorpius said with an exasperated sigh "Just pot the bloody thing"   
"I would if you got out of my way" Rose snapped as she pushed passed Scorpius to the bench.   
"Ouch, looks like we're back to this. I thought we had a bonding moment" Scorpius said pretending to be truly hurt.   
"You really are an arrogant piece of..."   
"Weasley!" The Professor shouted at her just in time "Watch your language"   
"Just because I felt a small bit of pity for you does not mean that I'm suddenly your best friend" She hissed at him.   
"Wow, you really don't like being in detention" Scorpius observed.   
"And who's fault is that" She snapped.   
Scorpius frowned "Errr... yours. I didn't ask you to defend my honour and hex Jason"   
"I wasn't defending your honour I was putting a stupid Gryffindor in his place. They need to learn that because their in the house of the brave doesn't make them kings"   
Scorpius nodded "So you're dishing out social justice, on my behalf"   
"This had nothing to do with you"   
"Yeah sure, you just happen to hex the boy who called me a deatheater"   
"I just happened to hex an asshole, I wasn't even thinking of you"   
"So you do think of me?" Scorpius asked raising an eyebrow.  
"No" she snapped back.   
"You're really pissed off aren't you, what's wrong?" he asked suddenly concerned.   
She whipped her head around to face him "How can you just brush of remarks like that? When I was talking to you in your dorm I felt like I was talking to the real you, not this fake player boy act you put on for everyone. Why are you like this?"   
"I don't know what you mean? This is who I am and if you don't like it you can leave" Scorpius said defending himself, but he did sound a little uncertain.   
"You are impossible!" she yelled at him.   
"And you are insufferable" he shouted back.


	6. Chapter 6

Charlie Jackson and Lysander Dean were making their way to Camp Half Blood when Lysander asked him the question he had been dreading.  
"So what's changed?" Lysander asked quietly as they drove down the freeway in his beat up Volkswagen.  
"What do you mean?" Charlie asked staring out the window at the trees whizzing past.  
"Why is it that all of a sudden you want to find your brother and Sisters? What changed?"  
Charlie was silent, wondering if he could really trust Lysander, he didn't really know anything about him. However, he had sworn on the river Styx that he could be trusted, and that was meant to mean something right?

"I grew up in Sydney, these Sea nymphs ran an orphanage, they were the ones who raised, taught me about the magical world and about its history but they never would answer any of my questions. I missed Zoe and Sliena and little Luke, Luke was so young the last time I saw him. I think he is 16 now." He paused, realising how much he had missed. "They were the only real family I had left and I didn't even know where they were, if they were safe, even alive! It was driving me crazy. I'm the eldest, I have the responsibility to find them. I remember that day that Poseidon took me, he told me that together we weren't safe. That the things that had killed our parents wanted us too! The God's believed that we would be safer on the other side of the world. That our sent together was too powerful, so to make it harder for them, whoever they are to find us. So far apart that we could never find each other. So for a time I did just that. I left them alone. I tried to have a normal life in Sydney. Normal friends, a girlfriend.." He trailed off with a shaky breath. 

"But that was when it changed. They had found me. They came like smoke in the night, just like that had before. It was a massacre. The Nymphs told me to run and I did but they cornered me. They did this thing. Like they were inside my head... it's hard to explain"

"Mind reading?" Lysander asked with a shake of his head. "I don't know nothing that can do that"  
"Exactly, nothing can! But they were inside my head. They could have killed me but they were searching for something. Answers i didn't have. so they left me half dead on the side walk and I knew they were going after my the rest of us next. I have to stop them. I want revenge for what they did to my parents, what they did to my family" He said angrily. 

"That's dark kid" Lysander said in a low voice. "Revenge is a dangerous motive"  
Charlie shook his head "You don't understand. This isn't just about revenge. We were targeted. There must be a reason why we were separated and why they left me alive. There is something much bigger and dangerous going on and whatever it is it wants my family."

"And so you want to stop it? All by yourself." Lysander asked smiling. The young boy was defiantly Annabeth's son. That much he was sure.  
"I have to. But that's why we are going to Camp Half-blood. I'm sure someone will know something there."

"Well if we have to go to Camp Crap-blood we might as well ask the Children of Hecate about it. I had heard on the grapevine a few years back that it was something dark and powerful that had taken out your parents. Hell it would have to be stronger than Mother Earth herself. If anyone knows about magic it's those weird kids" 

Charlie agreed. He knew the wisest course of action right now was to gather Intel, know thy enemy, but he also wanted more. He hadn't told Lysander but he wanted to find Rachel Elizabeth Dare. He had small memories of the Oracle from when he was younger and he was sure she knew more than she knew more than she had told him all those years ago. She probably thought that he was too young to understand, which Charlie thought was hypocritical since his Dad and Mom had been on their first quest by the time they were 12. It had been their first experience in saving the world. 

"So you said that my Mom save your life once" Charlie probed Lysander for an answer.

Lysander nodded and smiled fondly at the memory "It was my first day at camp, I was 10 years old. To be honest the whole child of war thing had gone to my head and I thought myself invincible. So I set my sights on the Lava rock climbing wall. I was half way up the wall when I slipped on a bit of wet rock, I let go and was about to fall into the lava when your mother, who had been climbing behind me grabbed me by my hand. She was only 11 at the time. She pulled me up and helped me get down safely. She then yelled at me for 10 minutes about being an idiot" he laughed.

"Yeah that sounds like her! Once when i was younger me and my brother Luke, where hanging out in the woods near the beach where we used to live. The two of us where climbing this massive tree we had found. It had all been part of a dare, Zoe told us that she thought we could never be demigods because we, at the time both had this massive fear of heights. So naturally we wanted to prove her wrong. So we climb the tree and almost made it to the top till a branch that we had been leaning on had snapped and the two of us fell. I broke my arm, but Luke was luck and only got this small scar on his chin. She shouted at us for half an hour after we wandered back into the house. Then after she fixed us up with a little bit of Ambroisa she took us right back to the tree and showed us how to do it properly" He told the story wistfully for better days, it had been awhile since he had been able to talk about his parents like this. 

"She was a force of nature your Mum" Lysander agreed  
"Yeah I never knew how Dad kept up. He was always so chilled" Charlie remarked.  
"Your Dad? Nah he was literally a force of nature, during the Battle of New York I literally saw him become a hurricane!"  
"Really?" Charlie's eyes widened like a little kids.  
"Yeah he tore through a legion of monsters like it was nothing" Lysander grunted in respect. "He truly was one of the best warriors that I had ever saw" 

Charlie feel quite. He wasn't sure what to do with the image of his Dad as a warrior. He had been a Marine Biologist. 

"So Camp half blood." Charlie said "What's it like?"

Lysander looked at his younger friend in surprise "You have never been?"

"When I still lived with my parents we used to go all the time but I was very young and so remember very little" Charlie explained.

"It's hell" Lysander told him.

Charlie frowned "Really, my Parents used to say it was the best place on earth"  
"Yeah for some A list Heroes like your parents, but for some Demigods it was just a consatnt reminder at how little the Gods cared. Not every God had a cabin you know, of course your Dad changed that now but back when I was there you had to be in the top 12 or you where no one. And even then if you weren't the strongest or the smartest you were nothing" 

"Is that why you joined Luke Castilian?" 

Lysander opened his mouth to answer but he never go the chance, there was a loud crash and the car was thrown into the air. The car twisted in mid-air before crashing on the side of the road upside down. Charlie groaned as he hung upside down from the car.

"Lysander?" he asked, trying to shake off his concussion.

"I'm alright" called the son of Ares and he lowered himself to the floor.

Charlie unbuckled his seat belt and he fell down on the roof of the car. "What happened?"

"Get out! Get Out now!" Lysander shouted looking over Charlie's shoulder. Charlie turned and looked behind him too see a hell hound the size of a two story bus charging right towards them. The hell house growled and bared its teeth at them, its red eyes flashing as it ran.

Frantically Lysander and Charlie climbed out of the wrecked car. It wasn't a pretty sight.  
Turning his attention back to the barrelling dog of death that was coming right after him. Reaching into his pocket he pulled out his hilt and the long celestial bronze blade grew out of it.

Lysander pulled out a small celestial bronze cylinder which morphed into a deadly spear. Both of them moved into a defensive stance. Charlie instantly recognised the monster as a hell hound. His father had told him about them before he had gone missing. If he wasn't ready it would tear him to shreds in a single bite.

'HERE IT COMES' Lysander shouted and he lifted his spear up higher.

Then something on the Hellhound caught Charlies eye, he squinted at the black fur around its neck. He saw it again, the Hellhound was wearing a large pink, oversized doggie collar.

Charlie lowered his sword 'No way'

'Jackson! What are you doing?' Lysander shouted at him, thinking that the boy had gone mad.

'Put your weapon down Lysander. I know who that is' he told his friend.

'Who? What in Hades are you talking about? It's a Hellhound!'

Charlie ignored him and started to walk towards the monster. Charlie wasn't sure if what he was doing was clever and an excellent deduction on his part or the most stupid last 5 seconds of his life. The Hellhound was ten feet away when it leapt of the ground and towards Charlie, like a cat pouncing on a mouse, Charlie horrified but he stood his ground, trusting his gut. Charlie prayed to any God that was listening, hoping he was right.

Charlie was knocked to the ground straight away. He lay on the floor between the two front paws of the Hellhound, breathing hard through his nose. The Hellhound stared down at him, its tongue handing out of its mouth. It started to sniff him curiously.

'Charlie?' Lysander's worried voice called 'Are you alive boy? Should I kill it now?'

'Wait' Charlie said, waiting for the monster to recognise him. They had met once before.

The Hellhound suddenly let out a loud happy bark before licking Charlie's face.

'Hey girl' Charlie said relieved that Mrs O'Leary had not eaten him.

Mrs O'Leary jumped off him and ran around in circles, her tongue hanging out and her tail wagging.

'Lysander, I would like you to meet the family dog. Mrs O'Leary' Charlie said proudly.

Lysander still stood in a defensive position, clearly unsure what to do.

'Your family's dog? Of course the Jackson's have a Hellhound instead of a labradoodle! Why did I even bother to ask?'

Charlie smiled 'If she's here we must be near Camp'

The two Demigods and the Hellhound climbed up Half-blood hill. Charles's legs were shaking. Camp half-blood. The place had only lived in his old memories. He doubted that any of his siblings would remember this place. Yes they might know of its existence, but he didn't think that would remember how it felt. To Charlie this was an important moment in his life, and a pivotal moment in his quest, here he could ask the children of Hecate and Rachel for the information that he was determined to find.

For Lysander it was a different story. He walked up the hill, the same way he had done when he was only 10 years old. Scared, unsure of who he was. His steps almost dragged along the ground as he made his way to Thalia's tree. He was a traitor, he fought with Kronos, and he had killed other Demigods. He was just as much a monster as the Hellhound that bounded along beside him. He wasn't even sure if the barrier would let him pass through. Curled around the base of Thalia's tree was a large purple coil. Lysander knew this to be the dragon Peleus. The protector of the Golden Fleece that hung in the branches of the old pinecone tree. It had been the summer after Percy and his friends had found the fleece that he had decide to join Luke's army. Why? Because when Lysander had been younger, he had been a skinny, weak little runt of the Ares litter. He was always getting beaten up by his brothers and sisters. The used to call him Lanky Lysander.

He hated Camp half-blood, he hated his family who used to tease him for being different. He wouldn't have dared leave. He knew that even if he could be knocked unconscious by his baby sister Clarisse then he would stand no chance out there in the real world. He was smart for a child of Ares. He couldn't make friends with the other campers. No one wanted to be friends with the outcast Child of Ares. A disgrace to his father's name. 

Everyone but Luke that was. He had been nice to him. He had been really cool, even defended him to the other children of Ares. Lysander idolized him. Then when Luke told him his plan, the plan for the remodelling of the word. A better, fairer world Lysander was on board in a heartbeat. He sailed with the Princesses Andromeda for a year or two then he was stationed at Mount Othyr to defend the new Olympus. He had fought Jason Grace himself, and lost. As the two of them looked down at the Camp from the top of the hill a mixture of emotions swirled through them. They were both completely caught up in the moment that they didn't notice a scout approach them.

'Who are you?' She demanded, he accent was strong, but Charlie couldn't quiet make it out. European? She wore Greek battle armour and held a short sword. Charlie couldn't see her face because she wore a helmet. Her sea green eyes shown through her helmet.

Charlie looked at them and was caught off guard.

'Who are you?' she repeated.

Charlie couldn't speak, he just stared at her. Charlie noticed the tuffs of blond hair stuck out from under her helmet and he knew. He could feel it. There was a tugging sensation in his gut 

'Sliena?' Charlie whispered.

The girl's eyes seamed to flash red. She leapt forward and had Charlie pinned down to the floor in a matter of seconds.

'Well. I have to say I haven't heard that name in years'


	7. Chapter 7

When Charlie had pictured a family reunion it had been with open arms, lots of hugs, jokes and tears. Instead he and Lysander were tied to a chair in the big house with duct tape strapped to their faces.

'MMmmmHHhhmmmmssss' Charlie said.

'Aaaggmmmmhhhshhhmm' Lysander said.

'Shut up' Silena said kicking their chairs. She stood in the door way of the Rec room of the big house, her eyes focused on Charlie. She appeared to be studying him. He stared back at her. She had taken off her helmet now so he could see her face. She was 16 now. The last time he had seen her was when she was 9. If Charlie could have smiled he would have, his little sister had grown up into a beautiful young woman. She shared a striking resemblance to their mother, except the eyes. She had their father's eyes.

'MMmmmhhhhmhmhmhhhhh' Charlie said again, struggling against the tape.

'I said-' she stepped forward 'Shut up'

Her accent was strange to Charlie's ears. He had been struggling to pin point it for a while now and so far he was leaning towards Italian. Was it possible that She had been taken to Italy? She certainly did have the tan for it.

It was at that moment when Chiron rolled into the room. Charlie knew about the centaur, his parents had told him how Chiron liked to hide his horse half in the back of a magical wheelchair. Chiron was a middle aged man wearing a tweed jacket and a t-shirt that said 'My other car is a Centaur'. He fixed Charlie with his ageless eyes and then turned to Lysander. Charlie knew that he recognised the son of Ares because a sad look filled his features.

'Lysander' he said the name softly.

Lysander sat up in his chair as much as he could, his face completely alert. For the first time since deciding they should go to Camp half-blood Charlie considered the horrible repercussions of bringing a Demigod traitor into camp. Would he be punished?

'Alana would you please untie our guests' Chiron said calmly. The hairs on the back of Charlie's neck stood up, just because Chiron appeared nice and friendly didn't mean that this would play out well for him. One thing you learn about growing up in a world full of Greek Monsters was that it was always the friendly ones that you needed to watch out for.

Charlie frowned when Chiron called Silena Alana. Did he not know who she really was? Charlie was starting to doubt that he had gotten the right person. What if he was just imagining his youngest sister?

Alana looked like she wanted to argue but she did what she was told anyway. She never took her eyes off Charlie.

'I'm sorry for this misunderstanding but I'm sure you understand why we have to be careful. We live in difficult times' Chiron said apologetically.

'We do?' Charlie asked as Alana ripped the duct tape of his mouth painfully. He winced.

'Demigods all over the country have been going missing' Chiron explained 'You must understand that we can't let just anyone wonder into camp.'

Charlie nodded. 'Well I guess I should tell you who I am' Charlie said sheepishly.

Alana pinpointed him with a cold stare 'I think you should'

'My name is Charlie Jackson, Son of Percy and Annabeth' he told them. At the mention of Percy and Annabeth Chiron's smiled widened but his eyes were sad.

'Liar' Alana accused.

'What?' Charlie said surprised 'It's the truth Silena and you know it. You think I wouldn't recognise my own sister?'

'It's a trick' she growled. 'So it's just a coincidence that you arrive at camp a week after me? I've been hunted by monsters all across Europe. Trust me I've seen better tricks'

'I can prove it' Charlie said quickly, desperate to prove to his sister he was who he said he was.

She crossed her arms 'Go one then'

'You have a small scar on the right side of your left knee from when stole Riptide when you were 8 so you could practice being an Amazon and cut yourself. Your favourite food used to blue pancakes. You and Luke used to always draw on the walls in crayon. You had this teddy bear, a dolphin from when we went to sea world you called Finley because you thought it had a small fin.' Charlie's words spewed from his mouth and seemed to be hitting Alana like a knives. 'You wanted to be a Marine biologist like Dad when you grew up and you used to talk to the goldfish Mr Goldfinger all the time.'

Alana was crying now and Charlie was 100% sure that he was now talking to his sister Silena.

'Charlie?' she whimpered and she ran and embraced her brother hard.

Charlie closed his eyes and cried. He was slowly bringing his family back together. Piece by piece.

Lysander watched the whole scene from a distanced. Charlie had found his youngest sister. People always told Lysander that Family was the most important thing to have but he always thought that they were more like weights on your ankles. But watching Charlie and his sister, separated for years but finally reunited. He was starting to change his views on family. His eyes fell back to Chiron, whom was staring at him intensely. He gestured for Lysander to follow him outside, to give the Jackson some privacy. He followed the centaur in the wheelchair outside and on to the porch. The sun was setting over camp half-blood.

'I didn't think that you would remember me' Lysander said dolefully.

'I remember everyone' Chiron said staring out at Camp half-blood and the setting sun.

'What will you do with me now? Do you want me to leave?' Lysander asked getting straight to the point. Deep down he was terrified of the answer.

Chiron paused as if seriously considering the question.

'No' he finally said 'I believe in second chances and so should you. Redemption is always there for those who seek it'

Lysander let out a huge breath that he had been holding. He strangely found himself relieved.

'You really haven't changed one bit' Lysander marvelled, looking closely at the lines stretched across his old mentor's face.

'And that is a curse I must wear' he said to himself.

'What should we do now? The boy is looking for his siblings and to avenge his parents. I swore I'd help him' Lysander told Chiron. 'I heard they were taken by monsters of magic. I figured Hecate kids would know something. Maybe it's the same thing that took all the other demigods'

'Maybe. It's a good idea. To ask the children of Hecate' Chiron complimented Lysander.

"What about the Oracle? Is she about? I figured the boy's gonna need one of them poems"

'Yes Rachel is here. She's staying for the summer.' Chiron stated simply but Lysander had a feeling he knew more about what was going on as well. 'But first I think you both should listen to Silena's story. She has an interesting tale to tell'

'Silena' Lysander said wistfully 'I knew a Silena once. Child of Aphrodite.' Lysander tried to picture her face but he couldn't. He hadn't thought about her in a long time. He smiled as he remembered that he had the biggest crush on her.

'What happened to her?' he asked.

'She died in the Titan War. She fought the Drakon. A hero's death' he said painful as if it was still fresh.

'She fought the Drakon? Why would she do that? Only a child of Ares can kill a thing like that' Lysander asked confused.

'She was a spy for Luke, for a long time she was passing information to the enemy but she tried to do the right thing in the end. She was a very brave girl' Chiron told Lysander meaningfully and he understood the message. If she could change and do the right thing then so could he. He just hoped that his redemption wouldn't end in his death.

'Chiron?' Charlie's voice came from behind them. He stood there next to his sister with a huge smile on his face.

'Hello' Chiron said 'I remember you. You were very young at the time when we first met. Your parents brought you along to Camp'

Charlie nodded 'I remember bits of it'

Chiron smiled at Percy Jackson and Annabeth Chase' eldest son. He always thought it strange that the named him Charlie but after he had time to think about it he knew it wasn't strange at all. He knew Percy always felt bad about how Charlie Beckendoff had died. In some ways he blamed himself for Beckendoff's death even though it wasn't his fault. This was his way of honouring a fallen friend.

Chiron gestured to the seats set out on the porch 'Please sit down, I want to hear everything.'

The two Jackson siblings sat down and Charlie launched into his story, he told them about living in Australia, travelling to New York the moment he turned 18 and meeting Lysander. He explained how he wanted to find his siblings and his parents. He knew that something was hunting them but he wanted to find it and kill it before if found him or his brother and sisters.

'I want to help' Silena declared the second her brother had told his story.

'No way. You need to stay here where it's safe' Charlie said instantly.

'Safe? You have no idea what I have been doing for the last 7 years of my life!' she said angrily.

'While you were given to Poseidon and surfing I was given to the Hermes! He gave me to a the Party ponies! Italian Chapter!'

Chiron smiled 'I actually have a cousin-'

'-really not the time Chiron' Silena said. 'We travelled over Europe fighting monsters and drinking Kool-aid. It was exhausting. They never stopped. No offense Charlie but I've probably had more experience killing monsters then you have.'

'How did you end up here?' Lysander asked.

Silena's face darkened 'Hermes was smart for giving me to the Party Ponies. I was impossible to trace because I was constantly moving, but they found us anyway. They came like wolves in the night, the same way they took Mom and Dad but this time no one was kidnapped. They were all killed. They were murdered because whatever those things were wanted me. I managed to slip away in all the Chaos. The Chapter went down fighting to protect me. They had all swore on the river Styx. So I made my way to France where I stole away on a cargo boat to America. I knew I shouldn't have come back but I had no where else to go. I thought Camp half-blood would keep me safe and it has.'

Charlie put his arm around his sister's shoulder 'I'm sorry Bubbles' he said using his old nickname for her.

A single tear rolled down her face but she quickly brushed it away. 'If you're going to find those monsters I want in. I've got a score to settle.'

Charlie looked at Lysander and Chiron, unsure what to say.

Lysander shrugged 'if the kid can handle herself...'

'I can' she said stubbornly.

'-Then the lady comes' Lysander said.

He had been younger than her when he had gone on his first mission.

'So what's the plan?' Silena asked.

'Hecate cabin is our first stop. We need to find out all we can about these magical monsters' Charlie said firmly 'We need to know what we are dealing with'

'Rachel's here too' Lysander told Charlie.

Charlie bit his lip 'Maybe we can try and get a prophecy?'

'Great, let's go' Silena said standing up.

'Not so fast' Chiron said. 'All of you need to get some sleep. Silena's been staying in the Poseidon cabin since it's empty. I'm sure there's room for Charlie as well. Lysander, there is a spare bed in the big house if you want it? I'm sure you three will have fun interrogating campers tomorrow morning, For now you all need to sleep'

Lysander couldn't help but notice how he wasn't offered a bed in his old cabin.

'Thank you Chiron' he said and without another word he disappeared into the big house.

Charlie grinned at his sister.

'Poseidon Cabin?'

'Poseidon Cabin! You better not snore'


	8. Chapter 8

The atmosphere was electric as the sound of hundreds of excited students from all four houses filled into The Quidditch pitch stands while 7th year Charms students stood around the edges, setting up the muffledo charm. No one up at the school would be able to hear the match. Scorpius made his way to the commentator box with Lily Potter and his sister Cassie. Both girls had been sorted into Gryffindor at the beginning of the year and soon became fast friends. Since it was their first Lumos games Scorpius had promised that they could watch the match with him from the best spot in the stands.

'Merlin's short's I'm so excited Scorpy' Cassie said bubbly. 'And the teacher's know nothing about it?'

'Nope' he replied with one of his famous smiles 'and the ones that do gratefully turned a blind eye'

'Why would they do that?' Lily asked curiously.

'Because it's tradition. The first Lumos games was held right after the Battle of Hogwarts. The 7th year students at the time thought that the inter house rivalry's needed to be destroyed. You know Slytherin verse Gryffindor'

'I didn't know that' Lily said.

'The two houses hated each other. Some people think that was really the cause of the great wizarding war. It was really a bunch of Slytherins verse the other Hogwarts houses. They were just all adults now so it got a bit more serious. The 7th years at the time wanted to build a community between all four Hogwarts houses, which included Slytherin' Scorpius explained.

Cassie frowned 'but I don't understand how someone could hate a person just because a silly hat put them in a certain house.'

Scorpius looked down at his little sister as she genially tried to get her head around the concept of Slytherin Vs Gryffindor.

'But you and Albus are nice' Lily said firmly.

'Sadly it wasn't always like that, back then people used to use their cunning and ambition only to help themselves. They only saw the dark side. Back then people didn't realise that not every house is perfect. They all have good people and bad people. For example a Gryffindor could do something brave and daring but it might not have good consequences for everyone else. They could act rashly and people could get hurt. What about Ravenclaw?, Those guys are so smart that they could take over the world, and no one would be able to stop them because they would always be one step ahead'

'But Hufflepuff doesn't have a dark side' Cassie scoffed 'Their fluffy and soft'

Scorpius shook his head 'Their hardworking and loyal. What if they were loyal to the wrong type of people, Voldemort for example? He would have a hard working and eternally loyal army. Imagine what he could have done with that'

Lily shuddered 'do we have to talk about this?'

Scorpius raised an eyebrow at the youngest Potter 'Scared Potter?'

Lily's face hardened like a true Gryffindor 'Never'

'Good' Scorpius grinned at the ginger Potter.

'Scorp?' Cassie asked suddenly.

'Yeah?'

'You're in fifth year right?'

'Yes, why?' he asked curiously.

'Well then why are you the games master and not some 7th year. They are supposed to be the ones running the games right?'

Lilly and Cassie looked up at Scorpius who replied with a very serious expression 'I do what I want'

***

Alice Longbottom made her way through the changing rooms. She had already changed into her Quidditch gear. She was the beater for the Gryffindor/Ravenclaw team. She moved her way easily through the throng of players, chatting and strapping on their leather arm guards and team colours. She finally came across the two Hufflepuff's she was looking for.

'Good luck out there' Sam told Dom with a smile. He was looking deeply in to her eyes. Alice quietly wondered if she would ever if been in love like that. There was always Albus but she only saw him as a friend. She knew about his huge crush on her but Alice though it was more of an infatuation that actual love.

Dom smiled back at Sam, but it disappeared when she saw Alice. Alice's stomach dipped a little as she watched both Sam and Dom's faces morph from happy lovers to defensive warriors. She would never tell them out loud but she valued their friendship a lot more than they would ever realise.

'Hi' she said awkwardly.

'What do you want?' Dom asked haughtily.

'To say I'm sorry' Alice's eyes dropped to the ground. 'I was wrong what I said about Hufflepuff's, you guys are amazing. Just because you don't shout it out to the world like us Bull-headed Gryffindor's don't mean that you're not a strong house'

Sam and Dominque didn't say anything. So Alice continued.

'I've seen you play' she said to the blonde Weasley. 'I've seen you take risks out there, on your broom. Your one of the best players I know and I shouldn't have said those things.' She then turned to Sam.

'You are the smartest guy I know. Smarter than Scorpius, then Albus... well maybe not Rose but that's Rose and there is no one smarter.' She joked and Sam smiled. 'You both are two of my best friends...' she trailed off unable to say anymore.

Sam had forgiven her, she could tell by the way he smiled warmly at her, Dom on the other hand was harder to read. She wore a stormy expression on her face. Alice though Dom was close to punching her in the face but instead she hugged her fiercely which took Alice completely off guard. Alice wasn't a hugger, never had been and never would be, but just this once she let Dom embrace her and she sort of liked it.

As per tradition the Lumos games started off with a bang. The Gryffindor's and the Ravenclaw's lined up on the north side of the pitch behind their rings while The Slytherin's and the Hufflepuffs faced them on the South side, all four houses staring each other down. Shouts and cheers of encouragement came from the crowds.

'Students of Hogwarts!' Scorpius' voice boomed across the stands 'Welcome to the 26th Lumos Games!' The spectators broke into a loud roar of sound.

'My name is Scorpius Malfoy and you have the lucky privilege of having me for your commentator and games master this evening.' Loud cheer went up from the Slytherins.

Albus Potter looked around the stands in awe. He stood on the South side of the pitch with his fellow Slytherin and Hufflepuff teammates. His eyes scanned the crowed of happy excited students. As far as Albus could see there was no clear house dividing stands like it had been in his father's day. Students from all houses stood together in a mix and match of different colours, all of them cheering on their friends. He dropped his eyes and looked to the north side of the pitch where he made eye contact with Rose, she was the deadly Ravenclaw chaser. She smiled at her cousin before, with her finger drawing a thin line across her neck and then pointed at him. Albus waved back playfully Then pretended to pick her up, put her on the ground then stamp on her hard with his right foot. The cousins grinned at each other and Scorpius' voice boomed 'TEAMS!'

'ON THE NORTH SIDE WE HAVE GRYFFINDOR AND RAVENCLAW, CAPTAINS WEASLEY AND LONGBOTTOM' he paused to allow for the loud cheer that followed.

'AND ON THE SOUTH SIDE WE HAVE HUFFLEPUFF AND SLYTHERIN, CAPTAINS MCLEAN AND POTTER' Another cheer followed Scorpius' announcement.

'NOW JUST TO INFORM THE BABIES, I'M TALKING ABOUT ALL YOU FIRST YEARS! THE POINTS SYSTEM IS THE SAME AS NORMAL QUIDDITCH BUT THERE IS ONE CRUCIAL DIFFERENCE! ANYTHING GOES, WITH THE EXCEPTION OF LETHAL SPELLS. CAN'T HAVE ANY FOUL PLAY, WERE'ER NOT MONSTERS.'

A laugh erupted from the audience.

'RIGHT, LADIES AND GENTLEMAN MOUNT YOUR BROOMS' Scorpius yelled.

Albus mounted his broom, his whole body tense.

'NOW CAN MY WONDERFUL ASSISTANT SAMUEL, RELEASE THE BALLS'

Sam stood in the centre of the Quidditch pitch wearing the sorting hat.

'THIEVES!' the hat shouted as it struggled to get off Sam's head. Sam laughed and said something to the hat. Sam then raised his arms to the crowd, who cheered in response. He then very ceremoniously released the balls. Eight bulgers flew into the air straight away. Albus watched them zoom around the pitch in surprise, he had never seen a game with more than two extra bulgers. What was Scorp thinking? Next the golden snitch flew into the air. Albus eyed the golden ball carefully, as the Slytherin seeker that was his price. The ball the flew off in a random direction. Sam then picked up the quaffle and the whole Pitch quietened. The silence was deafening.

'LIFT OFF' Scorpius suddenly yelled without warning and Sam threw the quaffle in the air. Clearly lift off had been the code word that the two of them had decided earlier. There was a moment of surprise before the quidditch players launched their brooms into the air. The games had begun but they were nowhere near finished with them. Albus had participated in only two games before and out of his own experience he had deduced that the hardest part about the games was not the other players or even finding and catching the snitch it was staying on your broom and avoiding any trick that the game maker, or in this case Scorpius decided to throw at them.

The game was no more than 5 minutes in when he heard the siren. A large wailing sound as several large canons appeared in the stands. Shouts of joy and anticipation could be heard from the students as they watched the cannons rise before them.

'AHH' Scorpius said 'I SEE YOU HAVE FOUND MY WATER CANONS. BY ALL MEANS BY DEAR FRIENDS. FIRE AWAY. FIRE AWAY'

Albus' jaw dropped open as he realised what Scorpius had done. He had given the audience water canons.

'Oh Dumbledore!' he shouted as he was forced to drop into a quick nose dive to avoid getting hit. Now these were not normal water canons, they were more like magical fire hoses that could reach the other side of the pitch in 2 seconds. However they did come with one limitation. The water could only be fired for half a minute before it shut off and the audience had to wait another 5 for it to re charge. This gave the players ample time to score points and look for the snitch. Another Jet of water narrowly missed Albus.

'OOOH AND POTTER SWERVES, WATER NARROWLY MISSING HIM. NICE SHOT GREGORY MAYBE NEXT TIME THOUGH.'

Albus turned his eyes back to the match and listen to his friends commentary.

'AND ROSE WEASLEY HAS THE QUAFFLE BUT JAKE TAKANAKA, HUFFLEPUFF IS ON HER TAIL. SHE PASSES TO DIMITRI DORAN, RAVENCLAW. BACK TO WEASLEY. TAKANAKA DUCKS UNDERNEATHER HER, IS HE? YES HE'S TRYING TO KNOCK HER OFF HER BROOM. HE FLIES UP FROM UNDERNEATH BUT LIKE A GECKO SHE HOLDS ON. BACK TO DORAN. TO WEASLEY! SCORE TO RAVENCLAW! 10 POINTS!.'

Cheers erupted from the stands as Rose and Dimitri did a victory lap.

'Eat that Potter!' She shouted as she passed him.

But before she could reply she was knocked off her broom by a jet of water. She fell but was hanging on with one hand. The crowd gasp.

'LOOKS LIKE WEASLEY HAS GOT HERSELF INTO A BIT OF A SITUATION THERE. HANG ON ROSE HELP WILL COME. I'M SURE THE GROUND WILL CATCH YOU' Scorpius said and a few people laughed.

Albus saw Rose grit her teeth and swing herself back on to herself broom.

'AND SHE'S BACK ON THE HORSE. OH WAIT HAS O'BRIEN SEEN THE SNITCH?'

Daniel O'Brien was the Gryffindor seeker. Albus eyes scanned the pitch and spotted him. He gave chase.

'AND OFF GOES POTTER IN PURSUIT. OUCH THAT WAS A NASTY BLUGGER TO SMITH'S FACE, I HOPE SHE HASN'T BROKEN ANYTHING, SHE WAS PRETTY. AND THOMASON IS KNOCKED DOWN BY A WATER CANON DAM THAT LOOKS PAINFUL. DAMON HUFFLEPUFF CHASER HAS THE QUAFFLE AND IS MAKING HIS WAY TO... AND ANOTHER WATER CANON! MAN IT WAS A GOOD IDEA TO BRING THEM IN. JOHNSON RAVENCLAW PICKS UP THE QUAFFLE BUT DOM WEASLEY HAS STOLEN IT. THAT WAS A NASTY TACKLE. POTTER AND O'BRIEN ARE NOW NECK AND NECK. A LITTLE SHOULDER BARGE THERE, I SEE YOU O'BRIEN. ANNNNDDD MCLEAN IS DOWN I REPEAT MCLEAN IS DOWN. NASTY BLUGER. JAMES BROWN HAS THE QUAFFLE, HE DUCKS WEASLEY, SMOOTHS AROUND DORAN AND SCORES FOR SOUTH SIDE! 20 POINTS.'

Albus attempted to ignore the rest of the game and completely focus on the snitch.

'40 POINTS TO NORTH SIDE' Scorpius' voice blared loudly. Albus swore under his breath as he realised his side was losing badly. He couldn't lose to Ravenclaw, not to Rose not again.

Daniel O'Brien was racing beside him, and he didn't seem to be holding anything back. He kept elbowing Albus hard in the ribs and using his broom to knock him of course. Usually that would be illegal in Quidditch but this was the Lumos games, and so anything was allowed. The two seekers were getting closer and closer to the snitch. Albus could see its golden metal glinting in the light, teasing him to come and grab him. Albus reached out and so did O'Brien, both of them were inches away and their brooms were evenly matched no one was going to out fly the other. The snitch jerked slightly to the left. It was closer to Albus now, he could catch it! He stretched out his fingers which only managed to brush the cool metal.

Then everything became water. Someone with pin point accuracy had shot both O'Brien and Albus with a jet of water which sent them both spiralling out of control.

'NICE SHOT THERE GREGORY! TOLD YOU, YOU WOULD GET ANOTHER CHANCE. POTTER AND O'BRIEN HAVE LOST CONTROL, THERE SPIRALLING! THERE SPIRALLING! HEY O'BRIEN! WATCH OU- O'BRIEN HAS CRASHED INTO DAMON. TWO PLAYER DOWN. I DON'T THINK EITHER OF THEM WILL BE PLAYING FOR THE REST OF THE MATCH. LOOKS LIKE MADAM ETHEL HAS HER WORK CUT OUT TONIGHT. OH BY THE WAY I AM DUTY BOUND TO TELL YOU THAT IF ANYONE TELLS HER THE TRUTH ABOUT WHERE ANY OF THE PLAYERS TONIGHT RECEIVED THEIR INJURIES THEN YOU WILL BE HUNTED DOWN AND FED AND OBSERVED AMOUNT OF THE MOST DISGUSTING BERTIE BOTTS EVERY FLAVOUR BEANS AND YOU WILL BE SHUNNED BY EVERYONE HERE AT HOGWARTS FOR THE REST OF YOUR PATHETIC LIFE. NOW BACK TO THE GAME. LOOKS LIKE POTTER'S ON HIS BROOM AGAIN. IT SEAMS TO BE VERY HARD TO KILL A POTTER THESE DAYS, EVERY TIME YOU TRY THEY JUST KEEP COMING BACK. ROSE WEASLEY HAS THE QUAFFLE FOR RAVENCLAW SHE... SHE HAS DOM WEASLEY OFF HER BROOM. LOOKS LIKE THERE IS SOME FAMILY TENSIONS OUT HERE TO NIGHT. ROSE WEASLEY SCORES 20 PONTS FOR NORTH SIDE.'

Albus managed to gain control of his broom. He scanned the pitch but was forced to do a quick dive when one beaters sent a bluger his way. Albus spotted the Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw seekers circling high above like birds of prey. They were clever. They were high enough to be out of the water cannons range but low enough to search for the snitch. Albus decided that he need to draw the Ravenclaw out and knock her down. Albus swung his broom to the left and set off at his fastest speed, making it appear that he had seen the snitch.

'AND POTTER'S OFF HAS HE SEEN THE SNITCH, I BELIEVE HE HAS. ALHADAD, RAVENCLAW SEEKER AND HOMES THE HUFFLEPUFF SEEKER HAVE GIVEN CHASE. ALL THREE SEEKERS ARE NOW IN THE RACE. LOOKING AT THE SCORES FOLKS SOUTH SIDE NEED TO EITHER SCORE ANOTHER 50 POINTS OF CATCH THE SNITCH TO WIN AND TO BE FRANK I THINK IT WILL BE THE LATTER BECAUSE THE CHASERS ARE BLOODY AWFUL TODAY. THAT'S RIGHT SLYTHERIN I'M TALKING ABOUT YOU. WEASLEY HAS BEEN ALL OVER YOU TODAY AND YOU'RE NOT EVEN FIGHTING BACK. YOU DO REALISE THAT SHE IS 5,4!

POTTER, ALHADAD AND HOMES ARE SPEEDING UP, WOW THAT WAS A DIFFICULT TURN. WAIT A SEC POTTERS LEADING THEM ON. WHAT'S HE DOING? HE'S HEADING STRAIGHT FOR GREGORY'S WATER CANNON.'

Scorpius was right. Albus was leading them on and straight into the firing line of Gregory's water cannon. Albus made eye contact with him and he knew that he was going to pull the trigger the second before he did. Albus dropped out of the sky, the jet of water flying over the air space that he had been moments before. The jet of water slammed head first into Alhadad and Howes. Both girls were knocked off their brooms and fell to the ground.

'DUMBLEDOR'S FLOWERY UNDERPANTS POTTER HAS JUST TAKEN OUT THE LAST TWO REMAINING SEEKERS. NICE SHOT GREGORY. HE SWERVES. I THINK HE HAS SEEN THE SNITCH, FOR REAL THIS TIME! ALBUS POTTER HAS CAUGHT THE SNITCH FOR SOUTH SIDE. SYTHERIN AND HUFFLEPUFF WIN!

An enormous cheer went up from the stands as Albus held the golden snitch up high in his left hand.

'POTTER, POTTER, POTTER' the crowd chanted.

'Eat that Weasley' he shouted at Rose as he flew past her.

'STUDENTS OF HOGWARTS I PRESENT TO YOU THE FIRST CHAMPION OF THE 26TH LUMOS GAMES, MY BEST FRIEND ALBUS POTTER!'


	9. Chapter 9

There was a huge party in the Slytherin common room that night and everyone was invited. Scorpius leaned against the far wall of the green common room watching both Slytherins and Hufflepuffs run around whooping in delight. He grinned to himself, just as he planned. He had known that Slytherin and Hufflepuffs would be a good match. With the combination of Hufflepuff skill and determination and Slytherin cunning they were an unstoppable force to reckon with. Scorpius' eyes moved across the common room. He saw Albus making large arm gestures as he tried to chat up Alice, no doubt trying and failing to explain his amazing quidditch prowess. He saw young Hugo Weasley, a Hufflepuff sitting awkwardly on the Slytherin sofa with his friends, clearly not sure of what to make of the underwater common room. Scorpius noticed Dom and Sam giggling and joking to one another in the corner, sipping butter beer as they whispered into each other's ear.

'Nice Party' Rose said next to Scorpius, suddenly appearing out of nowhere.

'Who let you in?' he joked 'Ah it doesn't matter, watching us is the only way you could ever understand what it's like to win at Quidditch'

'Ravenclaw won the house cup last year' she reminded him.

Scorpius shook his head 'Nope. Don't remember that'

'Really?' Rose frowned with a slanted smile 'Because I remember us beating you guys, what? 145 to 30'

'That's only because your team got cold feet and caught the snitch early' Scorpius retaliated. 'You were so scared that you didn't let the game go on for more than 20 minuets'

Rose smiled patting her Slytherin friend on the shoulder 'Sure, whatever helps you sleep at night'

'Actually it's the 10 beautiful women at my side' Scorpius joked.

Rose wrinkled up her face 'You pig! Why the hell would you even say that?'

'It's the truth I can't help if I'm just that attractive' Scorpius shrugged. Mentally hating himself for saying something so stupid. He watched Rose shake her head and walk away with a look of disgust. He ran his hand through his hair and thought about what an idiot he was. Why the hell did he even say that? He cringed internally. He looked up at Albus to see if he was having any better luck with Alice. He watched as Alice punched him hard in the shoulder and walk away making her way over to Dom and Sam. Albus had a defeated look on his face as he made eye with Scorpius, his best friend. Albus' shoulders slumped as he made his way over to the wall of shame, where Scorpius stood. 

 

'Why do you keep chasing her?' Scorpius asked his friend as he knocked his back against the wall, standing side by side with his friend.

Albus shrugged 'It's a Potter tradition I guess. Step one, fall hopelessly in love with a girl who is a) out of your league b) won't give you the time of day and c) could probably beat you up if she wanted to. Step two, keep flirting with her and chasing her until she gives in and falls hopelessly in love with you'

Scorpius laughed and shook his head 'That's not how girls work mate'

'Like you know how girl work' Albus laughed, shoving Malfoy with his shoulder.

'No one knows how girls work Al, they don't even know how they work. There just as screwed up as the rest of us primates, so don't be putting them on a high pedestal or anything. Why don't you stop chasing for once? You have always been going after Alice but she's not the only girl in the world.' Scorpius advised.

'But I have to be the chaser. Otherwise who would chase me?' Albus said worried 'I'm not the smartest, funniest or even that good looking. She would any girl like me?'

'Relax Al, I heard that Heather McMillian fancies you' Scorpius told his friend 'You know, the Hufflepuff'

Albus raised an eyebrow and scanned the crowed for Heather 'Are you sure?' he asked uncertainly, spotting Heather on the other side of the common room talking to some of her friends. Scorpius watched as Heather looked up and glanced over in their directions. She blushed red when she saw the two boys staring at her. Both boys dropped their eyes in an instant, embarrassed.

'You should go for it' Scorpius nudged his friend encouragingly 'Off you pop my little ladies' man' Scorpius winked at his friend.

Albus smiled uncertainly before timidly approaching Heather. He was acting like she was an exploding bomb. Scorpius Malfoy cocked his head to the side slightly as he thought about the analogy. He decided it was very accurate. In his eyes all girls where similar to an exploding bomb or a thunderstorm. They were beautiful, powerful creature that had the supreme power to create and end life. They were the reasons why hurricanes where named after people.

'Malfoy' Alice greeted him, detaching herself from a group of friends.

'Longbottom' Scorpius replied.

'Good game' She said.

'Not bad. I liked the result. You played well today' he complemented.

'Clearly better than you' she joked.

'Me? flying?' he mused 'Defiantly not, I'm not on particularly good terms with the sky. It's nothing personal though. Just a matter of principal'

'You talk to Albus?' she asked, knowing full well that he had been here moments before.

'You talked to Dom?' Scorpius counter argued.

She nodded 'Yeah the three of us cleared it up'

'I wasn't talking about that' Scorpius said, eyeing his Gryffindor friend perceptively.

'I don't know what you mean' she said guardedly.

'Ok' Scorpius dismissed it 'must be nothing then'

Alice leaned in closer. 'What you talking about Malfoy?'

'Just that you and Dominque are really good friends' Scorpius shrugged, trying very hard to hide his knowing smile.

'And that's it' she hissed, before storming away.

Scorpius shook his head 'Gryffindor's' he sighed 'so dramatic.' 

 

***

 

Rose Weasley sat next to Dominque and Sam on the far side of the common room. The furthest point that she could physically be from Scorpius Malfoy. She screwed her hands up into little balls and she thought about his whole demeanour, the double personality that he sometimes wore like an expensive glamorous coat. The way his face would fall into this arrogant, pretentious expression when he, supposedly thought that no one was looking. Rose knew that this was not the real Scorpius, that he was really the arrogant Malfoy, it was just a part he played in order to look cool or something. A crease appeared between Rose's eyebrows as she frowned at Scorpius from across the room. He was talking to Alice, but something was wrong. He was winding her up, even from across the room Rose could see that Scorpius was making Alice angry. She wished he would just stop this stupid charade. Rose watched Alice snap at Scorpius before storming away from him dramatically. Her face was almost as red as her tie. Rose's lip curled.

'Checking out the future Mr Weasley?' Sam asked, breaking her out of her thoughts.

'Say that one more time an I'll show you how dangerous a Ravenclaw with a book can be' She snapped back viciously.

'Tut tut someone's touché' Dominque teased, her French accent leaking through.

'Just go back to your sick relationship. I believe the next line you are looking for is no I love you more' She mimicked in a French accent.

'And that's not offensive?' Dom snapped back 'What's got your curls in a twist Weasley?'

Rose didn't answer, she just growled.

'Come on Rose! it's supposed to be a party. Let your hair down for once' Sam grinned grabbing her a drink and handing it to her. 'You don't always have to be so tough'   
'What's that supposed to mean?' she snapped back.  
'Look I'm not trying to start a fight, all I'm saying is would anyone die if for once you let yourself have fun' Sam continued  
'I do have fun! I had fun on the pitch tonight! I am fun. Back me up Dom' she turned to her blonde friend for back up.  
'Well...' Dom's voice trailed off 'You can be a little intense sometimes, especially when Scorp is involved'  
'Well that's because he's a puggy faced arrogant slime ball' Rose spat looking over at her blond haired enemy and sneered. He caught her glaring and pulled an equally ugly face back at her from across the room.   
'Rose' Dom sighed as she watched the childlike antics beside her. 'Ravenclaws can be so stupid sometimes. If you weren't so caught up in your own head you would really get whats going on with him.'  
Rose's head whipped back around to her french cousin. 'What do you mean?'   
Dom rolled her eyes. 'Look at him. He is at a party that he organised for a winning team that he hand picked and he isn't talking to anyone. he's just standing in the corner by himself. What do you think that means?'   
'That he has no friend's because he mean and horrible to everyone around him' Rose reasoned.  
Sam laughed 'Look closer, what is he actually doing?'

Rose sucked in a breath and turned to look. She looked at him, really looked for the first time in what felt like a long while. Scorpius stood casually leaning against the far wall watching Albus talk to a pretty Hufflepuff. She watched him grin slightly as his friend laughed and flirted. His eyes then moved across the room to Alice who was in the middle of a heated discussion with a 7th year Slytherin. Alice was shouting and laughing, and by the looks of it winning. The group around her cheered as she taunted the 7th year and Scorpius' smile wided too. 

Then Rose's heart stopped when his eyes fell on her. The two of their gazes were locked from across the room, his face appeared unreadable, not a single emotion flickered across his handsome face and not for the first time in Rose's life she wondered what he was thinking about.   
'Have you got it yet?' Dom asked and the moment was broken. She turned her gaze on Dom and Scorpius' turned his attention back to the room.  
'No, he's just watching everyone. So what? that does mean he has to be a dick all the time.' she pointed out.   
Sam sighed again 'Seriously? I always pegged you as the smart Weasley. I guess I was wrong'   
'You know if you really want to know what's going on with him I'm sure he would tell you if you just asked.' Dom said quietly.  
'Not in hell am I going over there to ask if his feelings are ok?' she mimicked in a high pitched voice.  
'Suit yourself, but don't complain to us about Scorpius when we all know all you want to do is talk to him' Her cousin said to her sharply. 

Rose rolled her eyes and stood up. 'I'm going to get another drink' and walked away from the young couple.  
'She literally has a drink in her hand' Sam laughed 'I think we might have touched a nerve'   
'Maybe but someone needs to be straight with her or we are going to keep running in these circles forever' Dom replied and Sam nodded in agreement.  
'Why do those two have to make things so difficult. All Scorp needs to do is tell her the tragic past that he's so desperate to hide so the two of them can make out'  
'Tragic past?' Dom asked in surprise.   
'Oh come on! Not you too? he is very clearly hiding something personal and painful. Why do you think he always has to put on the show? Act like he is such a lady's man?'  
'Because he is a ladies man' Dom giggled. 'I have heard several girls ask him out on lots of occasions but he always says no'   
'Well that's because he's waiting for Rose' Sam grinned.  
'Oh that's a given' Dom giggled. 

'You know? maybe we should do something to help them?' she said mischievously.  
Sam sat up a little straighter in his seat 'I love the way your mind works' he said kissing her on the cheek.


	10. Chapter 10

Charlie was thoroughly creeped out by the Hecate cabin. He thought that if he was to open up a dictionary and look up the word extreme emo he would see a small picture of Cabin 23. It was a dark cabin with long flowing purple curtains and strange mystical herbs growing all around. The air hummed with energy and magic and weird symbols had been etched into the walls.

'Camp has really changed' Lysander said, whispering in Charlie's ear as he eyed the cabin seriously. 'Back when I was here there were only 12 cabins, now there are hundreds'

Silena shivered next to her brother as she looked into the dark house. 'Why would anyone want to live in somewhere so dark?'

Charlie peered through the doorway then grinned ruefully at his sister 'Why don't we ask them and find out?'

The cabin was a lot colder inside, it was so cold in fact that when they breathed out they could see their breath floating on the air like a dragon. The three demigods made their way in cautiously, carefully avoiding everything that looked remotely magical, which was everything.

'Hello?' Silena called into the gloom 'anyone there?'

'Who are you?' a voice asked suddenly and all three demigods almost jumped out of their skin.

'Hades shorts!' Lysander yelled grabbing his heart. He looked around accusingly for the child of Hecate. 'Will you just come out and stop beings so dam mysterious!' he yelled angrily.

A young boy stepped out of thin air to Lysander's right with a sheepish expression on his face 'Sorry' he mutter 'I was practising with the mist, I wanted to see if I could be invisible'

'Well you certainly were' Lysander snapped 'But you ruined it all by talking, I could have killed you! Boy!'

Charlie raised an eyebrow at Lysander 'Sure you could have'

Lysander gave out an indignant huff 'I am a child of Ares; I am the child of War itself!'

Silena smiled at Lysander 'Sure you are, you can be whatever you wanna be. Don't let these bullies tell you anything else.'

The other demigods laughed and the Charlie then turned back to the son of Hecate. Charlie guessed that he couldn't have been more than 14 years old. He had dark raven black hair and extremely pale face, as if he had never seen the sun in his life. He had large pale blue eyes and lots of acne. He wore long black robes that were to long for him and had to roll up by the sleeve.

'I'm Charlie Jackson, this is my sister Silena and my friend Lysander' Charlie introduced himself.

The boy held out his hand and Charlie shook it 'Pablo' he said.

'Nice to meet you Pablo' Silena asked smiling at the boy.

Pablo looked from Silena to Charlie 'Are you really Jackson's? Like your parents were Percy and Annabeth?'

Silena nodded 'Yeah that's are parents'

Pablo's mouth dropped open 'Oh my Gods that is so cool. There like legends around here! You know we tell their story around the campfire sometimes! What were they like? I bet they were really cool?'

Charlie shifted uncomfortably 'Pablo they are missing and we need your help'

 

 

The four demigods sat down in the dark cabin while Lysander, Charlie and Silena took turns in filling Pablo in on what they already knew. They told him about how they believed that the beast that took them were of the magical kind, well more magical than Greek myths. Pablo nodded slowly as they filled him in. His face crunched up in deep concentration.

'So what do you think?' Charlie asked him after they had finished.

'Well to be honest I haven't heard anything about magical creatures recently but there is something else.' The three demigods watched as Pablo stood up from his seat and walk over to a nearby table littered with pieces of parchment.

'Recently, my siblings and I have been noticing a hot spot for magic. It's the biggest concentration of magic in the world. We've been looking through records and it looks like it's always been there but recently it's been growing in strength and we don't know why. We had sent a couple of scouts out there last year and the reported that it seemed to be a school of some kind. A school of magic'

Charlie frowned 'A school of magic? Can you teach magic? What would they teach? Could they be raising an army?'

Pablo shook his head 'We don't know we never made it in. They have got some serious security. The only way you're getting in is if you're a student or a teacher.'

'Where is it?' Silena asked studying the map

'In the Scottish highlands. My guess, so no mortal accidentally wonders in' Pablo said.

'We need to get in there' Silena concluded.

'How? We're not magicians, not students or teachers. Hell we could even be the enemy?' Lysander pointed out.

Silena smiled. 'I've got an idea. I'm young enough to attend the school, right? Lysander can pretend to be my Dad and we can go and apply. I get accepted and I find out as much as I can. You know deep cover'

'Honey, don't flatter yourself. There is no way that there gonna think that we are related' Lysander said again.

Silena ignore the insult 'Then I'm adopted'

Charlie shook his head 'No I'm not sending you in alone. I just found you there is no way I'm going to lose you again.'

'You're not going to lose me' Silena reassured her brother. 'I'll bring plenty of drachmas with me so I can call you at any time. I'll keep a low profile, just suss out the school. You're too old to go, in but me? No. Plus I don't have an American accent anymore. I'll blend in more than an American'

'The kid's right, it might work' Lysander said agreeing with the little Jackson.

'I can teach her a few basic magic tricks? Pablo offered 'so she looks like a magician but just with stunted ability or something. You could say that your family moved around a lot and so you never had a formal education but then you heard about the school when you moved to England and you begged your Dad to go'

'See' Silena pointed at Pablo insistently 'Charlie this could work. It's not forever. I'll just go in, get information then I'm out before you can say holy Hera'

Charlie had a calculating expression on his face and Lysander thought that he looked very much like a child of Athena. He seemed to be torn between protecting his sister and finding out a new lead.

'Why don't we talk to Chiron, and we still need to find out what Rachel knows.' Charlie said eventually. Silena squealed in excitement, the prospect of a quest would always interest even the most resistant demigods.

Charlie, Lysander and Silena left Pablo in the Hecate cabin and started the long trek up to Rachel Elizabeth Dare's cave. All three of them were filled with anticipation as they made the climb. Each wondering what to expect, another mystical cabin on the desolate mountainside, glowing green eyes and prophecy's? They followed the hard beaten track up to Rachel in silence, not sure what to say. They were still all trying to digest the idea of a school of magic. Silena thought quietly about the logistics, how would they get in? Would they require papers as proof of their identity? Would they even be accepted? What if the school was just a front for something far more sinister? Who would she meet there? Her parents? To many questions buzzed around her head and she began to doubt her plan, especially since she had no idea how to pull it off.

As it turned out Rachel's Cave was the opposite too what they had expected. It was a full decked out apartment crammed into an huge cave. There was a HyFi Tv sound system, a small swimming pool, a full stocked fridge, five poster bed (don't even ask) and the largest art store in the history of art. Paints, brushes, rollers, ink, paper, pens, wire cutters, sketchbooks and more littered ever surface. The walls had been painted with hundreds of murals. Charlie saw face of people he had never met, battles he had never heard of. He looked around the walls with his mouth hung open. Rachel was certainly a skilled artist; there was no doubt about that. It was then Charlie's eyes fell upon a bunch of old canvas paintings and hastily sketched charcoal drawings that had been shoved in the corner. He felt drawn to them somehow. He walked over an picked them up. The first was of a boy, with blonde sand coloured hair and blue eyes. He looked about 10 years old and had a natural smile on his face. The detail was incredible.

'Luke Castilian' Lysander said behind him in a sad voice. Charlie looked up and saw that his friend was looking at the picture in his hand.

'The leader of the titian war?' Charlie asked.

Lysander nodded 'That's him when he was a bit younger, before he was corrupted'

Charlie looked down at the painting again and struggle to put the horrible stories of Luke to this kid in the painting. He didn't seam the type to lead an army. This was the boy who his younger brother was named after. His father and mother had always called Luke a hero for sacrificing himself in the end to kill Kronos but Charlie wasn't so sure. One good act does not necessary make up for all the evil he had done. He had killed people. He had killed Charlie Beckendoff, the guy who he was named after.

Charile put the portrait down and looked at the next one, it was a hastily drawn charcoal drawing of the empire state building. Lightning raged above and an army had gathered at the bottom. Swords and war banners stuck out in all directions.

'The Battle of Manhattan' Charlie guessed in horror. It looked horrible. His parents had been younger than him when they had fought in the first war. Charlie could barely imagine fighting in one let alone two like his parents. His Mum and his Dad went up against Kronos the Lord of time and Gaia the freaking mother earth. His parents achievements blew his mind sometimes, but they also felt like a weight. As if he needs to do something just as amazing in order to live up to them.

'You should put those down' a voice commanded from behind him and everyone turned around to see Rachel Elizabeth Dare. She was in her late 40s. Her once vibrant red hair now greying but her eyes were just as perceptive and piecing. She wore an old flannelled t-shit that was tucked into her blue paint splattered jeans. She stood on the far side of the apartment, on the bottom step of a large staircase.

Charlie put the canvases down.

'Rachel?' Silena asked cautiously.

'And you are?' she asked eyeing them up.

'I'm Silena Jackson and this is my brother Charlie' Silena told her, watching her reaction carefully. Rachel's warrior expression changed and softened into one mixed with sadness.

'Percy and Annabeth's kids' she asked tenderly.

Charlie nodded and Rachel's hands flew to her mouth. 'You are all so grown up' She looked at them in disbelief.

'I can't believe it. I-' Rachel the collapsed to the ground her eyes growing green. Lysander was the closest she he rushed forward and caught her. He held her in his arms as green smoke began to snake out of her mouth.

She then began to speak a prophecy in the raspy voice of the oracle.

'Children of wisdom find their own

Children of Water, invade their home

Hands extents from the kings cage

Unleashed his wraith, hatred and rage.

The tail of the phoenix is the key

Promises broken, the king will be free

Or humanity's end, a deathly flood.

A choice must be made, water or blood'


	11. Chapter 11

Scorpius hated sleep. He was always plagued with nightmares. They tore through his sleepless mind like a typhoon in the middle of a storm and to night was no different. He tossed and turned as images flashed before his eyes and beads of sweat rolled down his face. He saw glowing green eyes and a sinister sounding voice whispering lines of verse from a cave in a mountain. He couldn't quiet make out what the voice was saying but he felt his heart speed up with the need to know what the voice meant. He knew that it was important. That it would be important.

It's voice like green smoke, swirled around his vision as he saw Hogwarts fade into view. Its tall towers reaching up to the sky as if it was trying to escape the ground. In his dream the sky darkened around his school and he saw the towers crumble down and fire burst out of the glass windows. The chanting grew louder and louder until it was almost deafening. Yet he still could not make out the words. He was sure that it was a woman's voice though, a voice he had heard before, a very long time ago, but as he grasped after the memory the dream changed. 

He was standing in a cavern deep beneath the earth. All around him the walls shifted as if it was sleeping restlessly. The light was dim but he could tell he was not alone in the cavern. In front of him sat a cage. A large metal structure that was some how real and not real at the same time. Scorpius was terrified. He felt like he couldn't breath. As if all the air had been sucked out of the room. Despite this he made himself step forward, and then another, and then another. Their was something in the cage, something calling him. He peered through the thick iron bars but couldn't make it out. There was one thing, however, that he was defiantly sure of, whatever was in that cage he never wanted it to get out. 

Fear rose up in Scorpius throat as he tried not to choke on it. 

'What are you little Legacy?' A deep voice asked from the cage.  
Scorpius couldn't speak, it felt as if his mouth was as dry as sand paper.   
'You smell like the sea' it breathed deeply, 'I haven't seen the seen since it's very creation. When the waters were new and fresh, not the polluted muck that you humans drink now. I remember when the waters of the earth were sweet and clear, the home of my brother. It's true King.' 

Scorpius was looking around frantically trying to find away out. A way to escape this hellish nightmare that he was trapped in.   
'It won't be long now' the voice rumbled 'and you can't do anything to stop it. The tide is coming in my little Legacy, will it wash you away as well?  
'What are you talking about?' Scorpius stuttered.   
'Family is very important to me. In family there is power. That is why I'm going to take yours away from you. One by one I'm going to cut them off, I'm going to twist them until they wish they were dead and then I'll be free'   
'No!' Scorpius shouted in to the darkness 'You can't have them!'  
The voice chuckled 'Why? it's not like you have them either?'  
Scorpius screamed and suddenly the blackness faded away as he woke up. He could still hear the loud deafening chuckle of the voice in his head and he knew for certain that it would be coming for him soon. 

Scorpius woke up Al with his screaming, while he clutching a small tattered piece of paper in his hand. 

"Scorp?" Al asked suddenly rushing to his bed from the one next to him. Albus had been lying in his own bed half asleep. His head swimming with thoughts of Alice. 

For a moment Scorpius didn't know where he was, he gripped on to Albus' shoulder tightly and began to mutter to himself in fear, saying the same word over and over again.

"Dad, Dad, Da-" he stuttered, choking on his own fear. 

"Scorp! It's just a nightmare. It's just a nightmare snap out of it" Albus said in a calming tone, trying to hide his concern. He knew that his friend did suffer for nightmares constantly, he had often seen his twisting in his sleep or calling out names of people he didn't know although more often than not it was his parents he shouted for. Whenever, Albus had tried to bring up the subject with his friend he had always brushed off the subject with one of his disarming smiles or witty jokes. 

"It's coming! He's coming for us, Need to warn the others" He muttered under his breath, a tear rolled down his cheek and he looked up at his best friend in the world. "But I don't know where they are Al! They took them from me! He took them from me! I don't know where they are!" His voice was still thick with sleep and so Albus guessed that he might still be caught up in his dream. 

"Who took who from you?" He asked curiously. But Scorpius shook his head violently "No, I can't, I promised. I can't" He muttered again. Albus watched as he saw his friend start to sober up and come back to reality leaving his dream far behind him. The two of them sat their in silence of a while, he was still clutching the battered sheet of paper. 

*** 

"Rose, I don't know what to do? I think their getting worse" Albus confided in his cousin over breakfast the next morning as he told her about Scorpius' nightmare. 

"He just kept saying the same things over and over again, and he had this piece of paper- but he wouldn't let me look at it." Albus said shaking his head. "I don't think I have ever seen him so scared. Your smart! you know about this stuff right. You need to help me" he pleaded.

Rose bit her toast thoughtfully, she was still slightly annoyed at Scorpius for his insulting remarks and demeanour at the victory party last week, but with this new piece of information her perception of Scorpius was altered slightly. She never knew that he had nightmares. He had always seemed like such an easy going and calm guy. The type of person that life just came easy to. She thought carefully about what her cousin had told her. 

"A piece of paper you say?" She asked for clarification. The mention of the little scrap had jogged her memory back to her and Scorpius' conversation in the Slytherin boys' dorm room. He had been looking at something on a scrap of paper then as well. She was suddenly intrigued and worried for her friend. She desperately wanted to help him, but first she thought that it would be better to understand the problem more. 

"Yeah he was holding it tightly in his hand when he woke up. I don't even he knew it was there until I asked what it was" Albus explained. 

"I think that whatever is on that piece of paper might be the root of Scorpius' problems. Most nightmares stem from traumatic pasts or fears and if we want to help him get over his fears or past we need to understand what he's torturing himself with. If we ask him he won't tell us, he will just avoid the question like he always does. If we wanna help him we need to find that scrap" She declared. 

Albus shifted uncomfortably "I don't know Rose. I don't know how I feel about going through his things like that without his permission. It's kinda an invasion of privacy. I was more thinking along the lines of a herbal potion for sleep or a spell or something to help him sleep"

Rose shook her head "Things like this can't be fixed by magic. This is something personal to him, nothing that can be changed with the flick of a wand" 

Albus nodded. 'I know which is why we shouldn't.'  
Rose rolled her eyes 'I thought you were his bestfriend? Shouldn't we try and do everything we can to try and help him? He clearly has issues'   
Albus' hold body tensed 'Your right. We could go now? He mentioned this morning that he was skipping the morning so that probably means he will be down by the lake. That gives us plenty of time'


	12. Chapter 12

Charlie was thoroughly creeped out by the Hecate cabin. He thought that if he was to open up a dictionary and look up the word extreme emo he would see a small picture of Cabin 23. It was a dark cabin with long flowing purple curtains and strange mystical herbs growing all around. The air hummed with energy and magic and weird symbols had been etched into the walls.

'Camp has really changed' Lysander said, whispering in Charlie's ear as he eyed the cabin seriously. 'Back when I was here there were only 12 cabins, now there are hundreds'

Silena shivered next to her brother as she looked into the dark house. 'Why would anyone want to live in somewhere so dark?'

Charlie peered through the doorway then grinned ruefully at his sister 'Why don't we ask them and find out?'

The cabin was a lot colder inside, it was so cold in fact that when you breathed out you could see your breath floating on the air like a dragon. The three demigods made their way in cautiously, carefully avoiding everything that looked remotely magical, which was everything.

'Hello?' Silena called into the gloom 'anyone there?'

'Who are you?' a voice asked suddenly and all three demigods almost jumped out of their skin.

'Hades shorts!' Lysander yelled grabbing his heart. He looked around accusingly for the child of Hecate. 'Will you just come out and stop beings so dam mysterious!' he yelled angrily.

A young boy stepped out of thin air to Lysander's right with a sheepish expression on his face 'Sorry' he mutter 'I was practising with the mist, I wanted to see if I could be invisible'

'Well you certainly were' Lysander snapped 'But you ruined it all by talking, I could have killed you! Boy!'

Charlie raised an eyebrow at Lysander 'sure you could have'

Lysander gave out an indignant huff 'I am a child of Ares; I am the child of War itself!'

Silena smiled at Lysander 'Sure you are, you can be whatever you wanna be. Don't let these bullies tell you anything else.'

The other demigods laughed and the Charlie then turned back to the son of Hecate. Charlie guessed that he couldn't have been more than 14 years old. He had dark raven black hair and extremely pale face, as if he had never seen the sun in his life. He had large pale blue eyes and lots of acne. He wore long black robes that were to long for him and had to roll up by the sleeve.

'I'm Charlie Jackson, this is my sister Silena and my friend Lysander' Charlie introduced himself.

The boy held out his hand and Charlie shook it 'Pablo' he said.

'Nice to meet you Pablo' Silena asked smiling at the boy.

Pablo looked from Silena to Charlie 'Are you really Jackson's? Like your parents where Percy and Annabeth?'

Silena nodded 'Yeah that's are parents'

Pablo's mouth dropped open 'Oh my Gods that is so cool. There like legends around here! You know we tell their story around the campfire sometimes! What were they like? I bet they were really cool?'

Charlie shifted uncomfortably 'Pablo they are missing and we need your help'

 

***

 

The four demigods sat down in the dark cabin while Lysander, Charlie and Silena took turns in filling Pablo in on what they already knew. They told him about how they believed that the beasts that took them were of the magical kind, well more magical than Greek myths. Pablo nodded slowly as they filled him in. His face crunched up in deep concentration.

'So what do you think?' Charlie asked him after they had finished.

'Well to be honest I haven't heard anything about magical creatures recently but there is something else.' The three demigods watched as Pablo stood up from his seat and walk over to a nearby table littered with pieces of parchment.

'Recently, my siblings and I have been noticing a hot spot for magic. It's the biggest concentration of magic in the world. We've been looking through records and it looks like it's always been there but recently it's been growing in strength and we don't know why. We had sent a couple of scouts out there last year and the reported that it seemed to be a school of some kind. A school of magic'

Charlie frowned 'A school of magic? Can you teach magic? What would they teach? Could they be raising an army?'

Pablo shook his head 'We don't know we never made it in. They have got some serious security. The only way you're getting in is if you're a student or a teacher.'

'Where is it located' Silena asked studying the map

'In the Scottish highlands. My guess, so no mortal accidentally wonders in' Pablo said.

'We need to get in there, I bet this has something to do with whatever took our parents' Silena concluded adamantly.

'How? We're not magicians, not students or teachers. Hell we could even be the enemy?' Lysander pointed out.

Silena smiled. 'I've got an idea. I'm young enough to attend the school, right? Lysander can pretend to be my Dad and we can go and apply. I get accepted and I find out as much as I can. You know deep cover'

'Honey, don't flatter yourself. There is no way that there gonna think that we are related' Lysander said again.

Silena ignore the insult 'Then I'm adopted'

Charlie shook his head 'No I'm not sending you in alone. I just found you there is no way I'm going to lose you again.'

'You're not going to lose me' Silena reassured her brother. 'I'll bring plenty of drachmas with me so I can call you at any time. I'll keep a low profile, just suss out the school. You're too old to go, in but me? No. Plus I don't have an American accent anymore. I'll blend in more than an American'

'The kid's right, it might work' Lysander said agreeing with the little Jackson.

'I can teach her a few basic magic tricks? Pablo offered 'so she looks like a wizard but just with stunted ability or something. You could say that your family moved around a lot and so you never had a formal education but then you heard about the school when you moved to England and you begged your Dad to go'

'See' Silena pointed at Pablo insistently 'Charlie this could work. It's not forever. I'll just go in, get information then I'm out before you can say holy Hera'

Charlie had a calculating expression on his face and Lysander thought that he looked very much like a child of Athena. He seemed to be torn between protecting his sister and finding out a new lead.

'Why don't we talk to Chiron, and we still need to find out what Rachel knows.' Charlie said eventually. Silena squealed in excitement, the prospect of a quest would always interest even the most resistant demigods.

Charlie, Lysander and Silena left Pablo in the Hecate cabin and started the long trek up to Rachel Elizabeth Dare's cave. All three of them were filled with anticipation as they made the climb. Each wondering what to expect, another mystical cabin on the desolate mountainside, glowing green eyes and prophecy's? They followed the hard beaten track up to Rachel in silence, not sure what to say. They were still all trying to digest the idea of a school of magic. Silena thought quietly about the logistics, how would they get in? Would they require papers as proof of their identity? Would they even be accepted? What if the school was just a front for something far more sinister? Who would she meet there? Her parents? To many questions buzzed around her head and she began to doubt her plan, especially since she had no idea how to pull it off.

As it turned out Rachel's Cave was the opposite too what they had expected. It was a full decked out apartment crammed into an huge cave. There was a HyFi Tv sound system, a small swimming pool, a full stoked fridge, five poster bed (don't even ask) and the largest art store in the history of art. Paints, brushes, rollers, ink, paper, pens, wire cutters, sketchbooks and more littered ever surface. The walls had been painted with hundreds of murals. Charlie saw face of people he had never met, battles he had never heard of. He looked around the walls with his mouth hung open. Rachel was certainly a skilled artist; there was no doubt about that. It was then Charlie's eyes fell upon a bunch of old canvas paintings and hastily sketched charcoal drawings that had been shoved in the corner. He felt drawn to them somehow. He walked over an picked them up. The first was of a boy, with blonde sand coloured hair and blue eyes. He looked about 10 years old and had a natural smile on his face. The detail was incredible.

'Luke Castilian' Lysander said behind him in a sad voice. Charlie looked up and saw that his friend was looking at the picture in his hand.

'The leader of the titian war?' Charlie asked.

Lysander nodded 'That's him when he was a bit younger, before he was corrupted'

Charlie looked down at the painting again and struggle to put the horrible stories of Luke to this kid in the painting. He didn't seam the type to lead an army. This was the boy who his younger brother was named after. His father and mother had always called Luke a hero for sacrificing himself in the end to kill Kronos but Charlie wasn't so sure. One good act does not necessary make up for all the evil he had done. He had killed people. He had killed Charlie Beckendoff, the guy who he was named after.

Charlie put the portrait down and looked at the next one, it was a hastily drawn charcoal drawing of the empire state building. Lightning raged above and an army had gathered at the bottom. Swords and war banners stuck out in all directions.

'The Battle of Manhattan' Charlie guessed in horror. It looked horrible. His parents had been younger than him when they had fought in the first war. Charlie could barely imagine fighting in one let alone two like his parents. His mum and his Dad went up against Kronos the Lord of time and Gaia the freaking mother earth. His parents achievements blew his mind sometimes, but they also felt like a weight. As if he needs to do something just as amazing in order to live up to them.

'You should put those down' a voice commanded from behind him and everyone turned around to see Rachel Elizabeth Dare. She was in her late 40s. Her once vibrant red hair was greying but her eyes were just as perceptive and piecing. She wore an old flannelled t-shit that was tucked into her blue paint splattered jeans. She stood on the far side of the apartment, on the bottom step of a large staircase.

Charlie put the canvases down.

'Rachel?' Silena asked cautiously.

'And you are?' she asked eyeing them up.

'I'm Silena Jackson and this is my brother Charlie' Silena told her, watching her reaction carefully. Rachel's warrior expression changed and softened into one mixed with sadness.

'Percy and Annabeth's kids' she asked tenderly.

Charlie nodded and Rachel's hands flew to her mouth. 'You are all so grown up' She looked at them in disbelief.

'I can't believe it. I-' Rachel the collapsed to the ground her eyes growing green. Lysander was the closest she he rushed forward and caught her. He held her in his arms as green smoke began to snake out of her mouth.

She then began to speak a prophecy in the raspy voice of the oracle.

'Children of wisdom find their own

Children of Water, invade their home

Hands extents from the kings cage

Unleashed his wraith, hatred and rage.

The tail of the phoenix is the key

Promises broken, the king will be free

Or humanity's end, a deathly flood.

A choice must be made, water or blood'


	13. Chapter 13

Sliena was terrified as she watched the spirit of Delphi leave Rachel's body with the sound of thousands of poisonous snakes hissing and twisting in the green smoke that had filled the room. They slid through the air around the three of them, as if they were frantically searching for a way out of their human prison that was Rachel. Sliena recalled the myth about the oracle of Delphi that the Party Ponies had told her while she was growing up. Originally the spirit of the oracle had resided inside a great snake named Python who had the power to see into the future. It was an old god, older than the Olympians, older than Gaia herself. Python had been one of the first children of Nyx the goddess of the Night and darkness, of when the only living things in the universe where the first primordial gods, the ancient ones. The very fabric of reality. Python had taken up residence in Delphi by the time the Olympians had been born and Zeus had defeated his father the first time. However, this wasn't enough for Zeus, he wanted complete dominion over the world and the old gods where a threat to his control so he sent his children to hunt then down and kill them. Apollo found Python at Delphi, the battle between the two raged on for years, the two of them locked in an endless battle. Apollo could not win, after all Python knew exactly what he was going to do next as she could see the future. Then by pure luck Apollo landed a luck blow and struck Python down, but he couldn't kill her, she was tied to the very fabric of the universe, she was the past, present and future. So instead he harnessed her to his and trapped the spirit of the ancient god in the body of one of his priestess. Thus was the creation of the oracle at Delphi. The Party Ponies had warned her that even to this day, the spirit of Delphi still seeks to escape her mortal prison and enact revenge on Apollo and the other Olympian gods. 

She could feel the spirits anger and resentment flowing throughout the room, searching for something, But then it was gone. As if it had never been there.   
'What happened? What did she tell you?' Rachel asked her voice slurred as she fought to come out of her daze.   
'I hate it when she takes over like that. You would think she would give me some warning at least so I could sit down first. I'm not as young as I used to be' Rachel muttered her complaint. 

'Tell me about it' Lysander sighed in agreement as he helped Rachel to her feet.   
'Who are you?' She asked in surprise, clearly not having noticed Lysander before her episode.   
'No one important' he grimaced.   
'Well that was intense' Sliena whispered to her brother.   
'I know right, that was not what I had expected' he whispered back.   
'So what did She tell you?' Rachel asked again finally coming back to her senses. 

Sliena retold the rhyming words that the Oracle had just uttered only moments before, with each line Rachel's frown grew deeper and more concerned. She then went on to explain to her why there were here. How they were looking for their parents and how Pablo had told them that the might find answers in the Scottish highlights. Explaining how they thought that if they followed the trail of magic to its source that they might be able to track down who summoned the creatures who took their parents, the creatures that were back again and taking more half bloods, and killing Party Ponies.   
Rachel didn't say anything straight away, she sat down on the steps of her staircase and thought hard.   
'How do you even know your parents are alive?' she whispered, fearful of the answer. 

'Of course they are alive! Their Percy and Annabeth Jackson how could they not-' she stopped. She had been fighting not to think about this. Ever since that night she had refused to believe that her parents were dead. They couldn't be, it wasn't right. They were the greatest heroes of this age, there was no way that they would die like that. They deserved better. 

'I had a dream' Charlie said quietly. All eyes in the room turned to look at him instantly. Dreams where not something to be easily ignored.   
'I dreamt that i stood in a grand hall, the walls were so tall that I couldn't see the ceiling, so high that there were clouds floating above my head. In front of me was Mum and Dad, asleep and suspended in this floating light with thick black ropes tied tightly around them. Then you were there' He said looking at his sister. 'And so was Zoe and Luke except you guys where kids again, the same age as the last time that I saw you.' His voice was cold and full of dread, sending a shiver up Sliena's spine. 

'But there was this presence. I didn't see it but I could feel it. It was dark and bitter and old. It was so old and weak but it was rising. Some how it was rising and growing stronger and it wanted me, it wanted us.' he stopped. 'They are alive, whatever this thing was it has them and I have to find them and my siblings if we are going to get them back.'   
'Charlie, I -' Rachel stammered 'I don't know if that's what the dream meant. These things, they are not always that straight forward. What if the dream was an illusion, a trick meant to trap you and your siblings. Your parents might already be gone and-'   
'No your wrong. They are alive, I know I can feel it.' 

'He's right you know' said a lazy voice from behind them. Sliena turned around and saw her patron.   
She rolled her eyes 'What are you doing here Hermes?'   
'Hermes?' Charlie choked in surprise.   
'What are you surprised by Jackson?' Hermes asked him 'Am I not godly enough for you?'   
'Well...' Charlie stuttered gazing at the god of messengers. He was dressed in a mundane UPS delivery uniform, leaning against the painted walls of Rachel's cave.   
'No... my Lord' he said, unsure how to address a god. He had never met one before, not even Poseidon when he had taken him away all those years ago.   
'Sliena' He exclaimed 'Its so good to see you again my dear. And Rachel, don't you look lovely as ever.' he winked at the Oracle.   
'How do you know him?' Charlie asked Sliena. She frowned at him confused.   
'Of course I know him. He was the one who dropped me with the Party Ponies'  
'And I've been looking after her ever since' he chimed in.   
Silena rolled her eyes again. 'Looking after is a bit of a stretch'   
'Fine' he agreed 'Sending godly guidance from time to time, like don't kiss that boy he's trouble or look out that cat is a Nemean Lion. You know the cool uncle things'   
'More like a godly annoyance' she muttered.   
'You know your father used to say that exact same thing' he grinned. 

Charlie watched the exchange in surprised and tried very hard not to feel jealous. Poseidon had never visited him, let alone gave him advice.   
'What can we do for you Hermes? What did you mean that Charlie was right?' Rachel asked.  
'Well that he's right. His parents are alive and your on the right track'   
'I knew it' Charlie said with a grin.   
'I came here to give you a gift and a piece of advice.' He said pulling a mail bag of thin air.   
'What's the gift?' Sliena asked sceptically.   
'Introductory letters to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry' he said reaching into his bag and pulled out a file filled with sheets of paper.   
'Hogwarts?' Lysander pulled a face 'What kind of name is that?'   
Hermes shrugged 'Ask Hecate. These should get you in the door, get Sliena a place at the school without to many questions. There is something not right going on over there and I want you to find out what'   
'Thank you' Sliena said, taking the letters off the god.  
'And the advise?' Charlie asked.   
'Before you go, go see the Prince. He will be able to help you. Prepare you for what your going up against.'   
'Why are you helping us? Who is the Prince?' Sliena asked.  
Hermes smiled at her. 'Because just like I once told your father a long time ago. You can never give up on Family' 

Then without another word he was gone.   
'Why are all the gods just so dramatic?' Rachel said with a smile.   
'So whose this Prince he mentioned and where do we find him?' Charlie asked Rachel and she shrugged.   
'You don't know who the Prince is?' Lysander asked Rachel in surprise.  
'Do you?' Charlie asked.   
Lysander chuckled 'The Prince, The Prince of the underworld. Nico Di Angelo'


	14. Chapter 14

Much to Charlie and Sliena's annoyance they stayed at Camp Half blood for another week before they were ready to leave for London. According to Chiron, Nico Di Anglo, their father's cousin had moved to London a few years ago with his husband Will. They had spent the time mainly waiting for the Hecate cabin to built them a portal strong enough to transport the three of them from New York to London, especially since flying wasn't an option. Even though they were only half Poseidon legacies they didn't want to risk getting blown out of the sky. 

'I still don't understand why we can't just take the Argo II' Sliena complained one morning while she was on her way to her morning magic lessons with Pablo. She had been having them every morning all this week so she would be able to pass herself off as a wizard.   
'We have been over this' Charlie rubbed his temples, getting tired of listening to Sliena's restlessness. Like most Demigods she had ADHD which meant she struggled to focus on a lot of things, especially when she desperately wanted to begin their quest.   
'How is Leo Valdaz's pleasure cruise an appropriate use of the ship?' She demanded.   
'He built the ship he can do whatever he wants with it' Charlie rolled his eyes at Silena.  
'Yeah but he was only able to built it because he had Mom's help. It's our inheritance' she pointed out.  
'I suppose, but there is nothing that we can do about it' He reminded her.   
'Fine' she spat 'but one day ill get that ship even if I have to wrestle Valdez myself' 

Charlie didn't doubt her sister when she said that. 'But right now you need to practice with the mist. You need to be good enough to make all those Wizards think that your one of them' Charlie reminded her.   
'Don't worry they won't even notice me' Sliena tried to reassure him but instead he just laughed.  
'Oh Bubbles you are anything but inconspicuous'   
'Shut up, snail head' she sneered.  
'Snail head?' he laughed 'That's the best you can come up with?'  
'What are you talking about? Snail head is a deadly insult amongst the Party Ponies' she said seriously. 'All Centaurs are terrified of Snails, Don't even get me started. They always go on about some ancient feud or something. It's ridiculous, you don't know how many harden warriors have rushed into my caravan because they want me to get rid of a snail. I remember one time this one guy, Bax, tried to set fire to his tent because he though he saw a snail on it. It was a leaf.' She deadpanned. 

'Your joking'  
'Cross my heart' She promised.  
Charlie laughed 'I'll remember that next time I get into a fight with a Centaur'   
'Never get into a fight with a Centaur' She warned him 'You will loose'  
'I would not' he argued back 'I am a seasoned warrior. I have never lost a fight'   
Now it was Sliena's turn to laugh, 'Look at those skinny arms I bet you couldn't even string a bow'   
'Why would I need a bow when I have a sword?'   
'You call that a sword! it doesn't even have a blade!' She pointed out.   
'That's because it's magic. I won it in a card game back in Sydney'   
'Sure you did' Silena mocked as she turned a corner and disappeared into Cabin 23.   
'I swear I did' He called after her but she was already gone. 

He had missed his sister but he wasn't sure that had missed this. He was certain that Sliena was the most annoying person on the planet.   
Shaking his head he carried on walking, it was early in the morning and he was heading down to the beach to think. He liked the sea, even through he didn't have Luke or Sliena's water powers he still felt calmer when he was near water. It still healed his injuries and cleared his thoughts, but most of all it remind him of his parents and his family.   
Once he had reached the sandy shore he sat down on the surf and pulled out his little notebook, it was where he wrote everything down. Every lead, every thought, every question he had ever had. Flicking through the pages he finally found the one he was looking for. Very neatly he had written out Rachel's prophecy. 

Children of wisdom find their own

The very first line of the prophecy filled him with such hope that he couldn't even put it into words. To him this was confirmation that he would find his family, he would find his parents. After all he was a child of Wisdom, the Grandson of Athena. He would succeed in his quest. He was certain about it. The future had told him so. 

'May I sit?' A female voice asked him.   
He glanced up to see Rachel Elizabeth Dare smiling down at him. He smiled back and nodded gesturing for her to sit. He hadn't heard her cross the beach, he must have been so engrossed in his own thoughts.   
Rachel sat down and glanced over at the open prophecy on his lap. 'I wouldn't worry about that too much if I were you'   
'Why not?' Charlie asked as he looked out on to the morning horizon.   
'The future is tricky. It never turns out the way you expect it, and the prophecies...' she paused and took a breath 'They can help. They can give guidance but they can also leave you vulnerable. If you set your heart on something that you think the Oracle is telling you it can change the way you approach things it can get you hurt.'  
'I know, it's just this prophecy. It doesn't make any sense. Phoenix tails and a King? and the final lines..' he looked down at the words on the page. 

'The tail of the phoenix is the key

Promises broken, the king will be free

Or humanity's end, a deathly flood.

A choice must be made, water or blood'

He swallowed hard. It terrified him. He had no idea what he was up against, what he was leading his sister and Lysander into. All he knew was that he needed to find his family. Once he had done that everything would surely work itself out. 

'Did your father ever tell you about his prophecy?' Rachel asked curiously.   
Charlie shook his head. His father had never mentioned a prophecy before.   
'He was a little younger than you when he first read it and it terrified him. I remember the two of us spent the entire summer before the war on Long island beach. It was nice, the two of us hanging out but their was always a shadow hanging over him. The prophecy weighed on his shoulders almost as much as the sky had. It pulled him down and made him terrified that he would loose the people that he loved most.'   
'What did it say?' Charlie asked her. 

'A Half-Blood of the eldest gods,

Shall reach sixteen against all odds,

And see the world in endless sleep.

The hero's soul, cursed blade shall reap,

A single choice shall end his days,

Olympus to preserve or raze.' 

Rachel recited the words like a long forgotten poem. As if they were a sacred chant that would bring her back to a long past time, where she and her friends were tasked to save the world. Listening to his Dad's prophecy made him once again wonder what it must have been like for him. A 16 year old kid against the Lord of time.   
'He must have thought he was going to die' Charlie uttered the words quietly.   
Rachel nodded 'He did'   
'But he went anyway' Charlie said to the ocean.   
'Yes, for your mother, for me, for the entire world. He made the choice to make the prophecy his, to own it. To make it his and not leave it to Nico. He could have you know, he had plenty of opportunities to opt out but he didn't. The prophecy didn't choose him. He choose his fate, but in the end it wasn't what he thought it would be. In the end it was Annabeth's blade not Kronos', it was Luke Castilian's life not his. He saved the world by doing what he thought was right rather than focusing on the words of the prophecy. They are not always as straight forward as it would seem.' 

Charlie let out a sigh. 'Do you miss them?'   
Rachel smiled at him 'Everyday' 

 

***

 

'And you have everything packed' Rachel asked fussing through Sliena's things like an old mother hen.   
'Yes' Sliena grinned at Rachel.   
'And you will send an Iris message as soon as you arrive?' She asked looking Charlie dead in the eye but all he could do was smile back.  
'And you will keep them safe?' She rounded on Lysander but before he could answer she said 'Because if you don't there is no where on earth or below that you could hide from me'   
Lysander's eyes widened suddenly in alarm 'Yes Mam'   
Charlie laughed. He liked having his Aunt around, she was pretty cool.   
Chiron trotted over to Charlie and looked at him sadly with an unreadable expression on his face and Charlie wondered how many demigods he had sent into to danger for the sake of the world. He must have done this 1000 times before, he must have done this with his parents too.   
'Be careful Charlie' he warned him 'The magic that you will encounter it's old and dangerous. Don't underestimate it'   
'Don't worry' Charlie said giving Chiron a lopsided grin which remind him of Percy. 'We got this. We are going to bring my parents and all the other missing campers home before you can say Kronos kiss my ass'  
The old mentor laughed and placed his hand on the young man's shoulder. 'He would be proud of you'   
Charlie smiled 'Thanks, that means a lot' 

'Right travellers' Pablo said loudly walking through the throng of campers who had all come to watch. Word about Pablo's magical portal had spread like wildfire throughout the camp, everyone wanted to see if it worked...or failed.   
Pablo began to hand out three small bags to Sliena, Lysander and Charlie.  
'You know it's not to late to back out' Charlie said to Lysander. 'You don't have to come with us'  
Lysander shook his head 'I've made many wrong choices in my life. It's time I set them right'   
'Your a good man Lysander' Charlie smiled at him but Lysander shook his head and looked down in the bag that Pablo had given him.   
'What is this?' he asked pulling out a milky white crystal and examining it in the light.   
'It's crystallised mist' Pablo explained.   
'Mist?' Charlie asked in surprise. 'How does it work? I thought the mist was only used for confusing mortals?'   
'Well that's it's main uses but we in Cabin 23 have been looking into it and we haven't even scratched the surface of what we can use it for!' he explained.   
'Is it safe?' Rachel asked in concern. 

'Yes?' he said uncertainly.  
'Yes?' Rachel repeated back in horror.   
'I mean Yes' he assured her.   
Rachel didn't look convinced. 

'Ok' He began. 'All you need to do is think of where you want to go and drop the Crystal on the ground.'  
'Is that it?' Charlie asked doubtfully.   
'Well you have to be very precise! So in this case you need to think very clearly in your mind 23 Hargreaves Road London. Make sure you are certain that you this is the place you have thought off because if you step in a portal without visualising where you want to go they I have no idea what will happen to you. It will probably be death though, instant death'   
'Instant death. Great!' Sliena said sarcastically looking in her own bag of crystals. 'Thanks Pablo for the prep talk'   
He smiled at Sliena and then blushed 'No problem. And remember everything I showed you. It's all about visualisation when your using the mist'   
She grinned at him 'Will do Sensi' 

'So I guess this is it' Charlie said to his friends. He dropped his Crystal on the ground and Sliena and Lysander did the same.   
'Stand back' Pablo warned as the Crystal's sunk into the ground. There was a small whole in the ground where the Crystal had vanished from view. Then the whole got bigger and by bigger it grew until it was twice the size of a manhole cover. Grass and soil collapsed in on itself dramatically disappearing into the darkness of the earth.   
'Now you jump' Pablo shouted over the sound of the earth cracking.   
'Jump?' Charlie shouted back.   
'JUMP!' Shouted Sliena as she dived into the hole, having compete faith in her friends abilities.   
Charlie and Lysander took once last look at each other before they both jumped into the darkness of the earth.


	15. Chapter 15

Scorpius sat by the lake and looked out across the water.  
He had decided to take a personal day off school as his mind was still reeling from his sleepless night before. He had been plagued by bad dreams his entire life. Scorpius had often thought about trying to talk to Rose about them. She was so smart, maybe she could help him divine their meaning. Help him understand what they meant. However, Scorpius knew that it was a bad idea, he could almost imagine her reaction. 

She would look at him, at first worried and confused and then she would offer him a sleep potion, thinking that his dreams where just bad dreams. That they had no hidden meaning other than the fact that Scorpius had a restless mind. If only that was true. 

The dream haunted him, the woman's voice. Chanting over and over again but her voice had seemed faint as if she was far away from him. It was the familiarity that pulled at him. It was like an itch that he couldn't really scratch but when he did it just got worse and bigger. If only he could tell Rose. She would know what it meant, but he had promised, he couldn't tell anyone. Not even Rose. 

Scorpius' mind drifted more to Rose and he couldn't help himself but smile. He admired her a lot. She always seemed in so command and sure of herself. She had a strange certainty about who she was and what she wanted. She knew what she stood for and what it meant. 

It was almost attractive. 

No.

No. He did not think that Rose was attractive. He suddenly reassured himself, but he felt heat rise in his cheeks as he even considered the idea. The notion that he maybe... 

But there was no point even considering anything. She detested him. She thought that he was arrogant and selfish. He was a Slytherin after all. It wasn't even her fault that she thought these things, as even Scorpius had begun to realise she had a strange effect on him. Sometimes she made him so nervous that he would say stuff that he didn't mean or act in a certain way that even he didn't like. It had happened at the victory party. He had been such a dick to her and he didn't even know why. But then there were the other times, Scorpius loved the other times. When it was the two of them, alone and they could be themselves. He didn't act weird or pretend he was something that he wasn't. He wouldn't say anything weird or mean by accident. It was easy talking to her during those times, it was just like breathing simple, natural, instinctive. He thought back to the first day that he had met her. 

It had been Harry Potter's 40th birthday party and as it was so close to the anniversary of when he had defeated Voldemort the ministry had decided to throw him a massive party, inviting 100's of important people from around the world, including his father Draco Malfoy. Scorpius smiled at the memory, it had been a good night but he had only been 10 and as Cassie was only a baby when he arrived he did what any normal kid would do and that was look for someone to play with. He remembered hunting through the crowds of laughing and talking adults looking for someone his own age when he felt a small tap on his shoulder. Turning around he saw a small puggly little girl with a main of bright red curly hair. Her face was round and small, covered so completely in freckles that he had wondered whether if her face wasn't one big giant freckle. 

'Hello' She squeaked.  
'Hi' he said back shyly not taking his eyes off her massive nest of red curls. Scorpius remembered being completely fascinated by them.  
'Albus isn't here today. He's sick.' She had told him, but of course Scorpius didn't know who that was. Not yet anyway.  
'Do you want to play instead? We can play Heroes and Dragons?' she asked him confidently with a large grin, showing off a big gap in her teeth.  
Scorpius had nodded back quickly and that was it. The two of them spent the rest of the evening chasing one another pretending to be dragons and knights. It wasn't until Rose's Dad Ron Weasley had caught them hours later that they had to stop playing. 

Ron had told Rose off, warning her not to play with a Malfoy otherwise she would get in trouble. Scorpius had been heart broken that his new friend had suddenly been taken away from him but he still remembered her face, as her father was pulling her away, with a strong grip on her arm. She had turned and smiled back at him.  
'See you later Scorpius' she had called out to him with a small wave with her fat fingers. 

The memory felt warm inside him and so he held on to it tightly, using it to fight of the bad feeling from the night before. 

Then all of a sudden something changed. The hairs on the back of his neck rose up and he felt a shiver rippled down his spine like an early warning system. Something wasn't right, something unnatural. He stood up abruptly, clambering on to his feet clumsily and looked around for the source of the danger. He looked behind him and then shouted in surprise and fear.  
An aged Professor Trelawney stood wide eyes and gaping a hairs width from where he was standing. Her glassy blue eyes rolled about her head unfocused and distant. 

'Professor' Scorpius gasped clutching his heart. 'You scared me. I almost jumped out of my skin'  
The old woman didn't say anything, her eyes were vacant and distant, her mouth slightly ajar.  
'Professor?' Scorpius whispered moving closer to the woman, her entire body was frigid and frozen. Like a stone cold statue she stood unmoving, glazing out at the lake.  
'What are you doing out here?' He asked her placing a gentle hand on her shoulder. He hoped to wake her from whatever episode she was having, hopeful this was just a side effect of getting old. Scorpius begged silently that this was nothing more sinister than a confused old lady but his instincts where telling him something else. 

However, as soon as his hand came into contact with her shoulder her frail body began to shake violently and her watery glass ball eyes fixed themselves on Scorpius. They young boy caught his breath and recoiled his hand quickly but like a lightning bolt her bony hand flashed out of nowhere and caught his wrist. He tried to struggle out of her grip but she was to strong. Unnaturally strong.  
'You heard her too' She accused him.  
'What? Professor, let me go. Are you ok?'  
'You heard her too' she repeated.  
'I-I didn't hear anything' he exclaimed fearfully.  
'She called to me from so far away' the Professor screeched.  
'The snake!, the Python!' she wailed and Scorpius tried to pull his hand away from her.  
Then with a sharp intake of breath she began to chant, 

'Children of wisdom find their own

Children of Water, invade their home

Hands extents from the kings cage

Unleashed his wraith, hatred and rage.

The tail of the phoenix is the key

Promises broken, the king will be free

Or humanity's end, a deathly flood.

A choice must be made, water or blood'

Then it was over. The professor stopped shaking and her grip around Scorpius loosed. Her entire body seemed to slump within itself, as if all the tention that had been holding her upwards was suddenly gone. Released. She had delivered her message. Scorpius was the one shaking now, his breathing was ragged and uneven, his heart pounding hard in his chest. It was a prophecy, he was sure of it. Like all the other students before him he had always laughed at Trelawney powers of prophecy but now he wasn't so sure. This was the real deal. 

'Oh Malfoy' She said in surprise. 'What is it that you want dear?'  
'I... ' he stammered not sure what he was supposed to do next. Do you tell someone they might have just predicted the end of the world?  
'What are we doing out here? Don't you have lessons to attend to? Do you think skiving of is acceptable behaviour? I will not have it. Now back to class. Shooo' She wished him away and he obliged, utterly dumbstruck by what he had just witnessed. 

 

***

 

Rose had seen of strange things in her life and she was certain she would see a lot more, but none was stranger than walking into the library one mid afternoon to see Scorpius Malfoy studying. It would be a lie to say that she didn't catch her breath at the sight of his pale handsome face twisted in concentration as he flicked through the pages of a large book. He was surrounded by stacks of thick leather books and a small note pad which he appeared to be writing on. He flicked through page after page furiously, clearly frustrated to not find the knowledge that he sought. Rose stood in the doorway from a distance and watched him. Scorpius was an enigma, a puzzle she had yet to figure out and she knew that it would burn her up inside until she had cracked it, until she understood him. 

Then not bearing to wait any longer she sauntered over to him with a smile 'What a rare sight this is'  
'Huh?' Scorpius said slightly distracted as he dragged his eyes away from his book. 'Oh it's you'  
'What are you doing here?' she asked as he turned his attention back to what he was reading.  
'What does it look like?' he asked.  
'No I can see that, I just don't know why you are doing it'  
'What? Can't a guy just read for the great pleasure of learning and education. I thought you of all people would know the joys of studying'  
Curiously, Rose picked up the nearest book to her and read the title aloud 'Ancient Divination and it's Messengers? Since when have you been interested in Divination, didn't you say the other day how you though it was an outdated class based on superstition?'  
'Yeah well I may have jumped the gun a bit' he said as he turned another page of his book.  
'What do you mean?' Rose asked sitting down beside him and set her own books on the table next to his. 

Scorpius looked up from his book again. The two of them where eye level now, she watched his eyes very closely. She had always loved how green they were, a bright aquamarine mixed with yellows and blues. Scorpius studied her back, except she knew he wasn't looking at the colour of her eyes but the shade of her character. He was decided whether to tell her something, she was certain of it.  
'This morning...' he said slowly, hesitant and unsure. He was afraid, afraid of something.  
'Scorpius?' she whispered quietly before placing her hand on top of his.  
'I... Professor Trelawney, she found me by the lake skipping class and she.. well I think she may have had some kind of episode where she saw the future.'  
'Trelawney predicted the future?' Rose repeated doubtfully, but when she looked into Scorpius' earnest and honest eyes she knew in her core that he wasn't lying.  
'What did she say?' Rose asked.  
'Here, I wrote it down' he said sliding over his notebook. 

She read the lines quickly and the read them again.  
'I think she delivered this prophecy to me. I think I was supposed to hear it. She wasn't the first one to try and tell me, I had this dream...'  
'Wait why do you think that? What dream?' She asked. She knew that Scorpius had been having bad dreams but this was something else.  
Again Scorpius hesitated and Rose knew that he was holding something back.  
'I don't know it's just a feeling' he said dropping his eyes.  
'We should tell Professor Mcgonagall, She will know what to do' Rose concluded logically taking her hand off of Scorpius.  
Scorpius watch her move her hand mournfully but didn't say anything.  
'No we can't tell her, we can't tell anyone' he blurted out.  
'Why not? Your not making any sense. if you say this prophecy is real... this is serious Scorp, we can't just keep it to ourselves' 

He gazed at the lines he had written on the paper and then asked with such conviction that Rose knew there could only be one right answer.

'Do you trust me?'


	16. Chapter 16

Sliena had only been in London for 5 minuets and she hated it. It was cold, raining and Pablo's portal had spat her out head first into the biggest puddle she had ever seen. Her entire body groaned with pain and she made a mental note never to take Pablo's portals again. From here on out she was only taking Pegasi or boats. The safest way to travel.  
'Well that was rough' Charlie groaned beside her. Unfortunately, he had been spared from the puddle fiasco.  
'I think I'm going to throw up' Lysander warned tightly, his face did look a little green.  
'Why is it so cold?' Sliena complained, her whole body shivering. Her light denim jacket and t-shirt might have been ok at Camp Half-Blood but London in September was not a pleasant place to be without at least three coats on and a scarf.  
'Did we make it? Are we in the right place?' Charlie asked staggering to his feet, looking around. 

Sliena had never been to London before, so she wasn't sure what to expect. The portal had thrown the three of them out into the middle of a long narrow street lined with tall traditional town houses. All around them the noise of the city blared out breaking the peaceful silence that had been Camp Half Blood with a disjointed crash.  
'Well it's certainly wet enough to be England' Lysander concluded, shouldering his bag and standing up to take in his new surroundings.  
Her eyes scanned the road and in a heart beat she came across a street sign that read 'Hargreaves'  
'I think we are in the right place. Look' She pointed to the door directly in front of her. It was jet black, but some how the dullness of the city made it seam darker. Written in gold letters above the door frame, first in English and then in Ancient Greek read 'The White House'  
'The White House?' Lysander chuckled 'Who does this guy think he is? President of the Underworld?'  
'No' Sliena said stepping forward to take a look at the inscription with a frown. 'He had a sister. A sister called Bianca, in Italian it means White. He named the house after her'  
'Well that's rather touching but shouldn't someone knock so we can get out of this dam rain?' Lysander muttered angrily.  
Sliena sighed and marched up to the door. Upon closer inspection the black door had large golden knocker in the shape of a skull sitting in front of a rising sun. She knocked twice and waited. 

It wasn't long before a tall man with sandy blonde hair opened it slowly. He was in his late 30s dressed in what appeared to be a doctor's uniform. He looked tired, as if he had just gotten back from a long day at work and his hair was an array of different shades of blond which varied from platinum to sun kissed red. Despite living in England he still had a deep tan which made him stand out in contrast against the grey city. He looked down at Sliena with a mixture of bemusement and curiously.  
'Nico Di Angelo?' Sliena asked uncertainly. This was the right addresses but the man in front of her didn't exactly look like a Prince of Hell.  
The blond man raised an eyebrow but stepped aside gesturing for the three of them to come in and get out of the rain. 

Sliena didn't know much about houses, after all she had spent most of her life in a caravan with the Party Ponies, but she knew one thing for sure when she first stepped into the White House, which was that this house was grand. The hallway opened up to a large marble stairwell gilded with gold and silver ornaments. To the left hand side was a large roaring fire place which illuminated the entire corridor, washing over Sliena's wet clothes with waves of heat. Above the fireplace was a large oil portrait of a young girl. She was pretty but couldn't have been more than 14 years old. She had long dark hair that had been pulled back into a soft braid and dark eyes that hinted at a warm smile. She was dressed in a thick silver uniform with a small archers pin attached to the breast. In the bottom corner of the painting the painter had signed their initials. R.E.D.

'Your soaked through to the skin' The blond man said to Sliena. She looked down at her soggy clothes.  
'Allow me' he asked offering her his hand.  
Hesitantly, she accepted it, slipping her small calloused hand into his warm one. Instantly, her clothes and hair began to dry, she felt waves and waves of soft heat running through her warming her entire body to it's core. Within a heartbeat she was dry.  
'Your Will Di Angelo aren't you?' She asked him and Will nodded with a smile.  
'I don't even need to guess who you to are. I would recognise Annabeth's children a mile away' He grinned at Charlie and Sliena, but then it faded when his eyes fell on Lysander.  
'Ly' he acknowledged him briefly.  
'Will' Lysander nodded back.  
'You look good'  
'So do you' 

'Wait you two know each other?' Charlie asked glancing between the two men in confusion.  
Will coughed uncomfortable 'Yeah you could say that'  
'We... um.. used to be very close' Lysander explained.  
Sliena grinned at Lysander deviously 'You used to date Will Solace'  
'No, we didn't exactly ...' Lysander tripped over his words but all Will did was laugh.  
'It was a long time ago when we were younger that's all. But it's in the past'  
'Why didn't you say anything? You knew where we were going' Charlie asked with a sly grin.  
Lysander blushed 'It doesn't matter' he said gruffly. 'We are here on a quest or shall I remind you that we have a job to do'  
'Ly is right. I'm sure we have much to talk about. Nico isn't here at the moment but he will be soon. He was just picking up Marina from a friend's house'  
'Marina? I didn't know you had a daughter' Sliena asked with a smile.  
Will glanced back at her in bemusement 'Yes, I'm sure she would love to meet you both. Now come inside, we will wait in the front room' 

Sliena, her brother and Lysander followed Will deeper into his beautiful house.  
'You know it was your mother who helped us put this all together' Will told Sliena with a knowing smile. 'She helped built the entire thing from scratch. From every window to ever doorknob, everything was her design'  
'No way' Sliena whispered wide eyed, staring at everything. She wanted to memorise it. She wanted to remember it forever.  
Will led the three of them into a small but beautiful room that had been painted a lovely sunflower yellow.  
'Please, sit make yourselves at home' He gestured to the two sofa that filled up the space in front of them.  
'Jules-Albert!' Will called. 'Are you guys hungry? Can I get you something to drink?' 

'Yeah I could eat' Charlie said with an almost maniac grin. 'Portaling makes you so hungry'  
'Agreed' Sliena nodded.  
'Portaling? Will asked.  
'Yeah, it's this invention that our friend Pablo made, it's basically where you... Oh My Gods what the Hell is that?' Sliena shouted suddenly jumping out of her seat and reaching for the bow strapped across her back.  
Charlie followed her gaze across the room to the door way where a dead man stood. 

He was dead. Definitely dead. It was a skeleton man dressed in a black Chauffeur's outfit and a small white apron tied around his waist. Charlie and Lysander suddenly jumped to their feet in horror, both of them reaching for their own weapons.  
'Sit down, Sit down everyone relax. This is Jules-Albert, our family butler.'  
'Then why is he dressed like a Chauffeur? Charlie asked in horror.  
'Why is he even here at all! He's dead!' Lysander exclaimed.  
'Well no one really drives in London so we promoted him to butler and chef. Tell him whatever you want and he will get it for you' Will explained.  
Sliena slowly lowered herself back into her seat, but kept eyeing the dead Chauffeur with suspicion 'I would like a double cheese burger and chips' She spoke slowly, unsure if he could hear her since he didn't have ears.  
'Ill have the same but with fries' Charlie said.  
'Idiot' Sliena hissed at her brother 'They are the same thing'  
'No they are not' Charlie argued with her sister.  
'Yes they are'  
'Not true'  
'Ugh Americans' she shook her head, her Italian accent coming through strongly.  
'You are American' Charlie said waving his hands about dramatically. 

'Don't suppose I could get a Pepperoni Pizza please?' Lysander asked the undead Chauffeur/chef. 

It took Jules-Albert almost no time at all to round up and cook their food to utter perfection. Both Charlie and Sliena torn into their burgers in complete satisfaction as Lysander filled Will in on what was going on.  
'So Hermes sent you here?' That is very interesting' Will said leaning back in his seat after Lysander had finished his his story. 'I'm not sure that we can do much to help, but maybe Nico know something that I don't.'  
'Why do you have a dead butler anyways?' Sliena asked Will.  
He smiled warmly at her 'To cook killer meals'  
'Wow' Charlie said almost choked on his burger 'That was a bit of a dead joke'  
Sliena sniggered beside him. 

Then without warning the room grew dark and cold, as if all the light had been sucked out of the room.  
'What's going on?' Lysander asked looking around in confusion.  
'He's early' Will said in surprise. 

Then, seemingly out of the shadows stepped out two figures dressed all in black. One was a dark man roughly the same age as Will and the other was a tall and skinny girl.  
The older man had think dark hair and Sliena thought he looked a lot like the girl in the portrait that she had seen before. His face was covered in a thick dark stumble which highlighted his narrow and sharp features in a rather attractive way. He was dressed in a smooth black three piece suit and a thick black overcoat. A simple silver skull ring adorned his finger. The girl on the other hand was skinnier and shorter, could not being more than 17 years old. She had thick black hair like her travelling companion but her eyes were a clouded and intense stormy grey. She was dressed all in black, with a leather jacket and thick combat boots. What Sliena liked most out of her look however, was the thick dark eye make up that the girl wore making her look like a punk goddesses.  
'Dad all I'm saying it that you have to let me go to this concert' The girl begged the older man as they stepped into the room out of the shadows.  
'And I've said no. You made a commitment to your Aunt. Hazel wants you to be there at her birthday party. You can't just say your going to go and then not go. It doesn't make any sense.' 

'Please! It's the only thing I've ever wanted'  
'You said that about the last concert!' He pointed out.  
'No I think you have it wrong' she said cheekily 'That was the only thing I've ever needed'  
'Agh' the man threw his hands up in the air 'Go bother your other Dad about it'  
'Yeah but he definitely won't let me go.' She pouted.  
'Marina' her father warned but he couldn't help but smile at his daughter fondly. 

She was about to reply when she noticed that she wasn't alone in the room. Her eyes dashed quietly from every face, as if silently assessing for a threat.  
'Nico, Marina I would like to introduce...' Will said standing up but Charlie suddenly interrupted him. His eyes wide with a massive smile on his face. 

'Zoe'


	17. Chapter 17

Dom wasn’t sure where her love for magical creatures had come from. She had often wondered if it had come from her Father and the wild stories and adventures with dragons which he used to tell her before she would fall asleep. Or maybe it came from her Mother, who was technically a magical creature herself, making Dom herself partly extraordinary. Curiously, it might have been this partial kinship which had drawn her to the study of magical creatures under Professor Scamander at Hogwarts, however Sam, her boyfriend had firmly told her all these things where wrong and right at the same time. It was her own unique sense of compassion, which he believed the magical creatures could sense and adored which made her excel in this area of magical studies, the other things were simply add on’s. 

‘Don’t you just love Professor Scamander’ Dom sighed as her and Scorpius made their way back up to the castle from the edge of the forbidden where they had had their lesson. 

Scorpius rolled his eyes ‘All you girls love Scamander. You know I do admire him, but I have to question his teaching methods’ Scorpius shivered.

‘Oh, shhh you’ Dom waved away his comment ‘Don’t tell me your still upset about the Swooping Evil’ 

‘It was going to eat me!’ Scorpius protested ‘It literally has Evil in its name! It eats brains! Are you telling me that if a brain eating giant bug thing came and crawled on your lap you would be fine with it?’

‘Well if it was a wild one then of course I wouldn’t be fine, but Professor Scamander said that he wouldn’t eat your brains because he had been domesticated and that he had fed him over a week ago, so he wasn’t even hungry. He was never going to hurt you anyway, you are being silly. Magical creatures simply adore you’

‘That’s your argument, it was fine because it wasn’t hungry?’ Scorpius said horrified. ‘What if he was peckish? Wanted a nice handsome snack?’ 

‘But he didn’t’

‘He could have’

‘He wasn’t going to eat you’

‘Scorp’ Dom sighed, but Scorpius simply flashed her a grin and she couldn’t help but smile back. Scorpius was infectious like that. He was simply such a good-natured person that he couldn’t help but spread it. 

‘What do you think of the essay? Dom asked her friend and his smile vanished to be replaced with a pout.

‘2000 words is to much’ he complained weakly. 

‘Don’t worry you will be fine, after all you have lots of first-hand experience with the Swooping Evil, I’m sure you will find something to write.’ 

The two of them laughed as they began to hike up the large hill back up to the castle. It was a nice day; the sky was clear and bright, and the air tasted sweet on Dom’s tongue. She loved these types of days. Her eyes trailed lazily across the beautiful horizon until they fell upon the Weeping Willow in the distance and she frowned. She wasn’t sure what she had seen, it had only been there for a second, maybe even less than that. It had been a figure, a small boy or a woman maybe and a large black dog. At least she told herself it was a dog. Dom stopped in her tracks and squinted across the field, grasping to get a hint of what she thought she had seen.  
Scorpius’ frown matched hers when he saw that she had stopped. Following her gaze, he scanned the horizon curious to see what had captured Dom’s attention. All he saw was the ancient tree which according to Albus guarded a secret passage to the Shrieking Shack just outside Hogsmeade. 

‘What is it?’ He asked her.

‘I thought I saw something…’ her voice trailed off slightly as she began to walk over to the tree to investigate. Something didn’t feel right. She had defiantly seen something, but   
she didn’t think that she could explain it to Scorpius, not yet anyway. 

Dom began to stroll over to the tree, her beautiful face furrowed in a mixture of curiosity and anxiety. She wasn’t sure why, but a feeling apprehension began to climb up her spine and seep into her bones. Scorpius was calling her name and following her at a distance, but she ignored him. The sweet air that she had been enjoying earlier had dissipated and now all she could taste was a metallic static that burned the back of her throat. The air around her seemed charged with a dangerous type of electricity, a darker shade of magic.

As she got closer to the tree its branches began to sway and swing unnaturally, but Dom was unafraid. The tree never seemed to pay attention to her like it did with the other students. Once in her first year she had been dared to go a touch it’s trunk, by some mean 5th year Gryffindor’s. She hadn’t just touched the tree, but she had climbed into its branches and began to read her book. 

It was so dark that she almost didn’t see it, but when she did, she felt her heart stop in her chest. Curled around the base of the Willow tree was a creature that in all her studies she had never seen before. Earlier she had mistaken it for a black dog, but she had been wrong, dead wrong. It didn’t exactly have a shape; it was more like a silhouette of a large wolf or large wild cat. It didn’t have skin or fur or scales, it was simply coated in darkness, as if someone had dressed it in shadows. A void of colour, light, sound and time. A living black hole eating up reality. The creature bared its teeth and its back legs tensed. It had locked Dom in its gaze, its eyes were equally as black as the creature’s body, she could only make them out because small lights shone through them like stars floating in the sky. 

They burned with such an intensity that made Dom’s blood run cold. 

It snarled viciously at her, but she was frozen to the spot. She couldn’t move. The creature pounced, leaping off its hindlegs, its sharp claws angled for the throat. But suddenly, when the creature was easily a hairs width away from ripping out Dom’s throat she was thrown into the air. The Weeping Willow at the very last second had smacked her hard with one of its thicker branches, throwing her into the air and out of the creatures reach. The creature fell through the air where Dom had been moments before, but it didn’t land, rather melting into the earth like a shadow when the sun shines out suddenly through a break in the clouds. 

All the air had been knocked out of her lungs as her small body cut through the air clumsily. Pain stabbed at her, her entire body screaming at her telling her something was wrong. A small part of her thought that her ribs might be broken. Her blonde hair flung out in all directions as she rushed through the air, mainly it wrapped around her face so she couldn’t see anything. 

And the she fell.

It didn’t take her long to crash into the rocky earth. Her slim body crashing hard with the sharp rock’s underneath. She vaguely heard someone shout her name, but she couldn’t concentrate. Her head felt blurry and confused. 

There was blood, she could taste blood.

Then Scorpius was leaning over her, his face a mixture of panic and fear as he called her name and shouted for help.   
Pain ran riot around her body, shooting at every nerve she had. Her shoulder was screaming out the loudest. In a terrified panic she glanced down at her right shoulder and felt sick. A thick wooden spike, which had most likely broken off the Weeping Willow when it had hit her had pierced the flesh on her shoulder. It was deep. Blood was gushing from the wound like a red chocolate fountain. The crimson red liquid spewed out seeping into her crisp white school shirt and jumper. 

She let out a gurgled cry of shock and surprise. If she could have, she would have been sick. 

Scorpius was looking at her shoulder in horror. His pale face was as white as snow. Anxiously, he made to touch the spike but then retreated, nervously. Clearly, worried about making thinks worse. 

‘Hold on Dom’ he told her. 

It hurt so much. 

Her vision was darkening, and she felt suddenly overwhelmingly tired, but she fought to stay awake. Dom could see Scorpius’ hands where shaking, they hovered over her shoulder as if he was afraid to touch her.

Everything hurt.

‘I don’t know any healing spells… oh gods… I don’t know what…. I can’t ….Dom… ‘ 

She watched his hands, pale and slender. 

Pain wretched in her gut and she cried out.

‘Ok ….I’m going to try something!’

Absently she thought that he would be a good piano player if he ever took the time to learn. She watched his hands move slowly up and down her body, flicking about just above her head like they were doing some kind of dance. The movements where fluid and slow, just like her brain. It took her a while for her to ask herself what he was actually doing. The out of the corner of her eye she saw water. Moving and dancing around her ribs and then engulfing her shoulder. There was a lot of blood.   
The water, it was patching her up. 

No that’s not right. 

But before Dom could think about anything else, she reluctantly faded into unconsciousness. 

Darkness engulfed her and she embraced it. 

***  
It was three days later when Dom woke up in the infirmary. Surrounded by whitewashed walls and nurses tending to other patients. Her head ached and her mouth was dry. She needed water. Slowly Dom tried to sit up in her bed, but she moved to fast and felt the pain return to her ribs, she hissed and slumped back on the soft pillows behind her as she waited for the pain to pass. 

‘Ah your awake’ a nurse said as she strolled over to Dom’s bedside. 

‘What happened?’ she asked croakily, her voice was hoarse and dry. 

‘You got a little bit to close to the Weeping Willow. You should know by now that the tree is dangerous’

‘No’ Dom frowned quietly ‘That’s not what happened’ 

However, the nurse didn’t hear this, so she kept on chatting. ‘You were very lucky, giving us a scare like that. When we finally got you here, we thought for sure that you had lots to much blood, your clothes were covered in it. Oh, we got rid of those by the way, there was no way we could have saved them. Luckily though, you were only bruised a bit. Two broken ribs, a sprained wrist and a minor concussion. ‘

‘What about my shoulder?’ Dom asked suddenly, glancing down in a panic as she suddenly remembered the massive wooden stake that had impaled her. 

‘Your shoulder?’ The Nurse asked with a frown ‘It’s fine honey, why does it hurt? You might have pulled a muscle?’

‘I… I don’t understand’ She stared at her shoulder. There was nothing there, no stake, not gash, not even a bandage. Hesitantly she shrugged her shoulder, it moved without complaint. It was fine. Her heart began to pound in her chest. That wasn’t possible. You could heal something like that, that quickly and not have a mark. That was not how magic worked. Healing with magic was quicker than healing without it but it wasn’t that quick, or that perfect. 

‘Your friends have been in a few times to check on you and I think that your Father will be arriving later today to make sure your ok. Professor McGonagall also will want a word with you. Don’t ask me what about though you will have to wait and see.’ 

Dom closed her eyes and darkness washed over her; she didn’t hear the nurse walk away. 

Everything hurt. Why? She began to chew on her lip, and she tried to piece together what had happened. Her memory was scattered across her mind like a giant puzzle, but the problem was she wasn’t sure what the picture was supposed to look like once she had solved it. She moved through the scattered fragments of her mind, pushing the aching pains of her body to the back of her mind.

There had been a dog.

No, it wasn’t a dog. It had been something else. 

The Weeping Willow. Had attacked her?   
No. It had saved her. 

Scorpius. 

Scorpius? 

She frowned as she recalled Scorpius. The image of her blonde friend came to her mind. She remembered him standing over her, his face contorted in panic and anxiety. 

‘I don’t know any healing spells… oh gods… I don’t know what…. I can’t ….Dom… ‘ His frantic voice echoed in her head.

‘OK, I’m going to try something’ 

He had done something. She was sure of it. He had healed her shoulder somehow without using magic. She hadn’t seen his wand or hear him utter any spells. He did pull out vials of potions or a miracle cure. In her minds eyes she could see his dancing fingers matching the movement of the water which had swirls around her bruises and cuts. He hadn’t healed everything, but he’d probably saved her life. She just wasn’t sure how. 

Dom’s eyes then fluttered open and she saw Professor McGonagall striding across the room to great her. She was an old woman, ancient by all accounts. Her hair was a beautiful silver grey which had been wrapped up in a tight and neat bun atop her head. She was dressed in her normal flowing purple robes which had a silver trim and patches of embroidery all along the edges. Her lips and eyes were tight with concern as she looked over at the blonde Weasley. 

‘Good morning Miss Weasley, I’m glad to see that you are finally awake. How are you feeling? The Nurses tell me that you are recovering quite well’ The Headmistress spoke clearly but in a soft tone. 

‘ I am. Thank you, Professor’ Dom smiled weakly. 

‘Now I have spoken to Mr Malfoy, and he relayed his account of the proceedings to me. He said that you wandered to close to the Weeping Willow and one of its branches threw you away. Not that I am doubting Mr Malfoy’s account I don’t think it is entirely true. Why in Heaven’s name would you wander so recklessly to a tree such as that. I would expect you, a 5th year to have better sense. What made you do such a thing child?’ The Professor asked. 

‘I saw… something’ Dom said unsurely, suddenly doubting herself. What if she had imagined the entire thing. 

The Professor frowned ‘What did you see?’

‘Someone’ she paused ‘and a dog, except it wasn’t a dog it was like a shadow creature. The Willow didn’t swat me away because I got to close, it saved my life. It threw me away just as the thing was about to...’ she stopped, dreading to think what would have happened it the sharp teeth of that creature had found its mark. 

‘Someone?’ McGonagall quired quietly.

‘I don’t know, I was them form a distance. Maybe a boy or a small woman? I’m not sure’ Dom explained as she struggled to picture the figure. If only she had seen their face, she chided herself.

‘Do you know what they were doing?’ The Headmistress asked but Dom shook her head.

The Professors frowned deepened and she looked extremely troubled. 

‘What do you think it was Professor? I’ve studied every book in the library about Magical Creatures, but I haven’t come across anything like the one I saw. It was like a black hole, sucking in everything. The magic around it was so strong. I could feel it.’

The Professor pursed her lips and she thought carefully. ‘I’m not sure yet. It must be extremely powerful for it to break through our defences unless, this someone allowed it to pass through the barrier. I will be talking to Professor Scamander and launching an investigation. Don’t you worry about it, everything will be alright’ 

The Professor smiled at Dom weakly, she didn’t believe her. Something was up. 

‘Professor. I have a question’ Dom said suddenly sitting up in her bed. 

‘Yes?’

‘Well…’ she paused thinking about Scorpius. ‘Are their any Wizards who can do magic without using a wand or any spells?’

The Professor raised an eyebrow ‘Well it’s an interesting topic, there have been stories about great Witches and Wizards who in times of great danger could summon power from within themselves, but we are talking about accomplished Wizards such as Circe or Merlin. It takes a great amount of study to achieve something like that.’ 

‘So, a student wouldn’t be able to do it?’ She asked.

‘Well there was one account that I recently read in the Headteacher records of a student from the 1700s, a Tobias Jackson who supposedly had this ability, but he was expelled from the school in his final year and moved to America. Although, I personally believe this is fiction, Headmaster Finchley was not exactly a reliable narrator when it came to his own personal records.’ She smiled at her warmly. 

‘Why do you ask?’ Professor McGonagall questioned. 

Scorpius, she thought. Scorpius had performed magic without a wand or spells. 

‘No reason’ Dom replied with a pretty smile.


	18. Chapter 18

Rose stood on the rocky slope that led down to the Weeping Willow, watching the magical tree from a distance. Her eyebrows were knotted together in concertation as she did what she did best. Think. She had gone to visit the infirmary earlier that day and Dom had confided everything that had happed in her and had ask her to go back to the tree and see if there were any clues to support what she had seen.   
Rose had many theories. The Ravenclaw had considered many variables and unlikely scenarios, even stopping off at the library to do some light research into some forms of dark magic.   
‘How do we know that it wasn’t her imagination? She might have thought up the creepy shadow dog when she was unconscious.’ Alice Longbottom suggested beside her.   
‘We don’t’ Rose conceded ‘But then why would Dom have wondered over to the tree in the first place?’  
Alice bit her lip as she thought of an answer, but none came.   
Rose hadn’t told anyone yet, but she was starting to get an eerie feeling that a pattern was forming. First Scorpius had dreams of a chanting woman in green smoke, then Professor Trelawney got hijacked by some spirit to deliver a prophecy and now Dom claims she saw a strange figure hanging out by the death tree with some kind of shadow dog. Something was going on but frustratingly she couldn’t find the connection, she was missing the bigger picture and she knew it. However, they did have one thing in common, Scorpius. It had been Scorpius’ dream, Trelawney had delivered the prophecy to him, and he had been there when Dom saw whatever she had seen. All roads led back to the same place.   
Her throat felt tight as she thought about Scorpius being at the centre of this growing sense of danger that had been building up inside her. She couldn’t bare to see him get hurt, her mouth went dry as she tried not to think about what it would be like if he had ended up in the infirmary rather than Dom.   
That was why she had grabbed Albus on her way out and had told him it was now or never. He needed to find out whatever Scorpius was hiding. She had a feeling it was the key to unlocking all of this. Rose though that if she understood Scorpius’ past a little bit more, she might be able to save his future. 

‘Do you have a plan?’ Alice asked Rose breaking her train of thought.  
‘A plan?’   
‘To get past the barrier’ Alice pointed out.  
Professor McGonagall had placed a temporary magical barrier around the Weeping Willow, after what happened to Dom, she didn’t want any other students accidently wondering into the Willows path. It was impenetrable, and far more magically advanced than anything Rose had ever conjured up. Most students wouldn’t even stand a chance against magic like this, but Rose wasn’t most students.  
‘Oh yeah. I swiped this from Albus earlier’ she said pulling out a smooth and silky cloak. 

‘The cloak of invisibility’ Alice said with a grin ‘But how will that help us get past the barriers?’  
‘Well,’ she began, ‘according to folk law this cloak is actually death’s cloak from the tales of the Beatles and the Bard. You know the story about the three brothers and the three gifts?   
‘So?’  
‘So, this isn’t an ordinary enchanted object, it’s so much stronger and more powerful. So, I figured rather than try and take down the barrier by force we could use the cloak to slip through it. After all, there is no spell that can ever truly stop death.’ Rose reasoned.  
‘Weasley you’re a genius’ Alice exclaimed with glee.   
Rose blushed slightly ‘I do try’   
The two girls slipped under the cloak. Rose had been slightly worried after Alice had insisted that she come with her that they both would not be able to fit under the thin material but luckily for them they were both short and small so there was enough to go around. Huddled together under the cloak the two girls apprehensively slipped through McGonagall’s magical barrier. 

‘Keep the cloak on, we don’t want the tree to swing at us too’ Rose whispered to Alice and she nodded back in agreement. The two of them began to shuffle around the tree, their eyes scanning everything they could, looking for anything that might be a clue. 

‘Um Rose’ Alice said sharply.   
‘Yeah?’  
‘Look at the base of the tree’ Alice pointed out.   
Scorched into the bark of the Willow tree looked to be four lines of violently burned letters in a language that Alice and Rose didn’t understand.   
‘It looks like the Greek alphabet’ Rose observed in morbid curiosity.  
‘Can you read it?’ Alice asked the Ravenclaw.   
‘No, well there is one bit at the very bottom that I can kinda read. Its in Latin’   
‘You can read Latin?’ Alice asked surprised.  
‘Yes, as well as dwalfish, Elder Rune and German’  
‘Weird flex but ok’ Alice muttered ‘What does it say?’  
‘Graecus Mortus. Death to the Greek’

‘What’s that supposed to mean?’ Alice asked as she pulled out her phone. Strictly speaking students weren’t supposed to have muggle phones but there had to be some privileges of being the deputy headteachers daughter or what was the point. Alice liked angry birds.   
She quickly snapped a shot with the camera, thinking that Rose would want a copy later when she dove headfirst into research.   
‘I don’t know’ Rose bit her lip ‘but I think we will find out soon’

***

Albus stood alone in the Slytherin dorms and ignored the guilt that washed over him of waves. With every fibre of his body he knew what he was doing was wrong but if Rose thought it could help Scorpius then he was going to do it. He would do anything to help his friend and Rose was usually right about these sorts of things.   
He knew where he kept it. 

The small slip of paper which he secretly snuck a peak at every night before he fell asleep. Up until now Albus had decidedly left the topic alone with his friend, in all their years of friendship Albus had never once brought it up. It felt wrong. Like, whatever was on that slip of paper was a taboo, a secret that should never see the light of day. It belonged hidden under Scorpius’ pillow, for him and him alone. The hairs stood up on the back of Albus’ neck, he couldn’t bring himself to move towards Scorpius’ bed. Once he had done this, he knew that there would be no turning back, he would finally know, for better or worse. 

Finally, Albus plucked up the courage to move. His footsteps were soft on the dark wooden floor, his leg brushing against the soft green covers that lined the dorm beds. Scorpius’ bed was messy, his blankets and sheets were crumpled and folded at weird angles. 

Albus glanced over his shoulder before sucking in a deep breath and quickly slipping his hand under Scorpius pillow and swiping out the small folded piece of laminated paper. His heart was beating fast, so fast that he thought that if he waited any longer it would burst from his chest. 

It was old and crumpled and Albus felt himself hold his breath as he unfolded the small slip. At first, he wasn’t sure what he was looking at, it was a picture of a happy family of six, two parents and four kids. All of them shared the same laughing smile and happy glint in their eyes, as if the photo had been taken mid joke. The older man and woman, whom he assumed where the parents looked in their late 30s. The man had dark greyish hair with a silver streak which snaked down from the front of his head and wore a faded orange t-shirt. His eyes where an astonishing green and he looked at the camera with a boyish mischievous smile. The woman was blonde and shared a matching steak of hair as the man. Her grey eyes gazed at him in a happy blissful kind of wonder and Albus quietly pondered if anyone would ever look at him like that. Albus then turned his attention to the children. 

There were four of them, two boys and two girls, grinning stupidly at the camera with a carefree attitude that only came with a happy childhood. The older children, both a dark-haired boy and girl leaned back against their mother who was comforting them with a soft embrace. The younger and blonder children sat to the right next to the dark-haired father. The man had his arms wrapped tight around a small blonde boy in mid laugh. His blonde hair flopped over his young face and a familiar set of green eyes shone out towards the camera making Albus catch his breath. 

It was Scorpius. 

A young Scorpius.


End file.
